ENDOSCOPIC FINDINGS OF PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Abstract

Introduction: One of the commonest medical emergencies faced by physicians and gastroenterologists is upper GI hemorrhage, having incidence rate of 103 cases per 100,000 per year in UK and mortality rate of 10%. Variceal and Non variceal causes are the two major causes of upper GI hemorrhage. Massive GI hemorrhage is the life threatening complication that leads to severe anemia in patients with upper GI hemorrhage. The present study was conducted to determine the endoscopic findings in anemic patients with upper GI hemorrhage presenting to Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Materials & Methods: Our study was conducted in Gastroenterology department, Ayub teaching hospital as a descriptive cross sectional study since March 2011 to August 2011.
Results: Out of total 292 patients with upper GI hemorrhage and resulting anemia included in this study, there were 184 male and 18 female patients with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1, and mean age of 48.09±15.71 years. The most common cause of upper GI hemorrhage was found to be esophageal varices (55.5%) followed by peptic ulcer (36.6%), gastric erosions (5.8%), Mallory-Weiss tear (1.3%) and esophagitis (0.5%).
Conclusion: As compared to Western countries where peptic ulcer disease is the most common cause of upper GI hemorrhage, esophageal varices were the more common cause of upper GI hemorrhage in the study population.