UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL BLEED;

Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed (UGIB) is a globally prevalent medicalemergency and is a major cause of mortality. It may manifest as Hematemesis, Melena orHemetochezia. The most common causes of UGIB are Esophageal Varices (EV) and PepticUlcer Disease (PUD). Upper GI endoscopy (EGD) is the preferred procedure for investigation.Objectives: This study was carried out to identify patterns of endoscopic findings in patientswith UGIB and its frequency according to age, gender and symptoms in our setup. StudyDesign: It was a single centered retrospective analysis. Setting: Endoscopy floor of LahoreGeneral Hospital, Lahore for evaluation of Upper GI Bleed. Period: January 2010 to December2013. Material & Methods: 3910 patients were brought to the GI Endoscopy. Data wascollected from the endoscopy records on demographics (age and gender) and history of UGIB.The endoscopic findings were then evaluated. Results: 58.3% were male and 41.7% werefemale; male to female ratio was (1.4:1). The mean age was 43.4 years for males and 46.9 yearsfor females. (58%) had hemetemesis, (21%) had melena, (19%) had both hemetemesis andmelena. (2%) had hemetochezia. EV (69.2%) was the commonest cause of UGIB followed byPUD (20.6%). 4.3% of patients had a normal endoscopy and 2.5 % had Growth in upper GI tract.Conclusions: EV was the commonest cause of UGIB in our setup, as compared to the westernworld, where PUD was more common. Probable reason could be the high prevalence of livercirrhosis in our population. A good number of patients had a normal endoscopy, suggestingphysicians to obtain detailed history prior to the procedure.