CPG APRIL 2003

Introduction
UGIB is a common medical emergency associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The commonest cause of UGIB is

peptic ulcer disease NSAIDS H. pylori Oesophatigis Malignancy Mallory weiss tear

Bleeding peptic ulcer most common course. 80% stop spontaneously 20% persistent/ recurrent bleeding.

> men than women Increasing age Mortality rate from UGIB was 10.2% but increased substantially with age and did not differ between the sexes. Inpatients that were admitted for other diagnosis but developed UGIB had the highest mortality; at almost 5 times higher than those with emergency admissions or transfers from other hospitals for UGIB. 64% of those admitted in this series had peptic ulcer disease as a cause of bleeding

Assessment of Ongoing Bleeding

Continuous haemetemesis or persistent hypovolaemia despite aggressive resuscitation bleeding is still active. Passage of fresh melaena, which is maroon coloured or passage of bright red visible clots suggest active bleeding. The insertion of a nasogastric tube may be helpful in demonstrating active bleeding. However,it may be poorly tolerated. The caveat is when there is a bleeding ulcer with the pylorus in spasm. Aspirate without evidence of blood or coffeee-grounds material is seen in about 15% of patients with UGIB.

Risk Assessment
Risk Factors For Death After Hospital Admission For Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding 1. Advanced age 2. Shock on admission(pulse rate >100 beats/min; systolic blood pressure < 100mmHg) 3. Comorbidity (particularly hepatic or renal failure and disseminated malignancy) 4. Diagnosis (worst prognosis for advanced upper gastrointestinal malignancy) 5. Endoscopic findings (active, spurting haemorrhage from peptic ulcer; non-bleeding visible vessel) 6. Rebleeding (increases mortality 10 fold)

Endoscopy For Risk Assessment

Early upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (within 12-24 hours) is the cornerstone of management of UGIB. Early endoscopy has 3 major roles viz. diagnosis, treatment and risk stratification. It is the most accurate method available for identifying the source of bleeding.

Endoscopic therapy

PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY

H2-Receptor Antagonists
A recent meta-analysis concluded that there was

no evidence to support the use of H2- receptor antagonists in the treatment of bleeding duodenal ulcers but there is evidence of a moderate benefit in gastric ulcers

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)

High dose intravenous PPI (eg IV Omeprazole

80mg stat followed by an infusion of 8mg hourly for 72 hours) be commenced (Grade B)

MANAGEMENT of REBLEEDING
Recurrent bleeding remains the single most important adverse prognostic factor. Morbidity and mortality are higher in those with rebleeding and 95% of rebleeding occurs within the first 72 hours of hospitalisation

Rebleeding After Initial Endoscopic Control of Bleeding Ulcers

haemostasis is not permanent and rebleeding occurs in about 15-20% of the cases. In patients with peptic ulcers and recurrent bleeding after initial endoscopic control of bleeding, endoscopic retreatment reduces the need for surgery without increasing the risk of death and is associated with fewer complications than is surgery

Surgery if decided upon should be performed early rather than late to avoid an unfavorable outcome especially in the hypotensive elderly patient. In some patients, endoscopic appearances (eg. a giant posterior duodenal ulcer) may suggest that surgery be the preferred option

ROLE OF SURGERY
changed with wider use of endoscopic hemostasis in bleeding ulcers, no longer aiming to cure the disease but primarily to stop the hemorrhage. Mortality after urgent surgery correlates with the preoperative Apache 2 score.

Indications for Surgery as the Primary Mode of Treatment

Massive bleeding Ulcer inaccessible to endoscopic control

Type of Surgery for Bleeding Peptic Ulcer under-running/ over-sewing or excision of ulcer radical surgery (gastric resection or vagotomy)

While under-running or over-sewing for bleeding ulcers is advisable in a large proportion of cases, ulcer excision or even more radical surgery (e.g. gastric resection for large, chronic, penetrating gastric ulcers) may be performed in selected cases. The rebleeding rate was lowest in patients having a gastrectomy to include the ulcer either with Billroth I or Billroth II reconstruction when compared with more conservative surgery.

However, the bile leak was following gastrectomy was much higher and the overall mortality was similar in the two randomized groups. The same study suggested that when a bleeding duodenal ulcer is under-run, ligation of the gastroduodenal and right gastroepiploic arteries reduced the rebleeding rate to a similar level as gastrectomy. The magnitude of surgery should be tailored to the type of ulcer, severity of illness in the patient and experience of the surgeon

INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY

In the critical or unstable patient who is not amenable to immediate surgical intervention radiological intervention appears increasingly as a very effective option. In a recent retrospective evaluation of interventional embolization therapy over an 8 year period, bleeding was stopped in 83% of cases. The rate of complications was 14%. Sodium diatrizoate, metal coils, tissue adhesives and Gelfoam particles were used

FOLLOW UP

should be discharged with oral proton pump inhibitors. Those with gastric ulcers should be reendoscoped in 6 weeks to assess healing and rule out malignancy. Attention should be paid to Helicobacter pylori eradication for all H. pylori positive ulcers. The latter is also recommended for those on long-term aspirin. Those who need to continue on NSAIDs should consider COX-2 inhibitors, or the least damaging NSAID with a proton pump inhibitor.