The Role of Hospital Characteristics in Clinical and Quality Outcomes for Gastrointestinal Bleeding in a National Cohort.

INTRODUCTION: There is substantial variability in patient outcomes for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) across hospitals. This study aimed to identify hospital factors associated with GIB outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries hospitalized for GIB from 2016 to 2018. These data were merged with the American Hospital Association Annual Survey data to incorporate hospital characteristics. We used generalized linear mixed-effect models to estimate the effect of hospital-level characteristics on patient outcomes after adjusting for patient risk factors including anticoagulant and antiplatelet use, recent GIB, and comorbidities. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and secondary outcomes included length of stay and a composite outcome of 30-day readmission or mortality. RESULTS: Factors associated with improved GIB 30-day mortality included large hospital size (defined as beds >400, odds ratio [OR] 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-0.97), greater case volume (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.98), increased resident and nurse staffing (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83-0.94), and blood donor center designation (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.99). Patients treated at a hospital with multiple advanced capabilities, such as availability of advanced endoscopy, advanced intensive care unit (ICU) capabilities (both a medical-surgical ICU and cardiac ICU), blood donor center, and liver transplant center, had a 22% reduction in 30-day mortality risk, compared with those hospitalized in a hospital with none of these services (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.68-0.91). However, length of stay increased with additional services. DISCUSSION: Patients hospitalized for GIB at hospitals with multiple advanced specialized capabilities have lower mortality but longer lengths of stay. Further research should examine the processes of care linked to these services that contribute to improved mortality in GIB.

Upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage patients' survival: A causal inference and prediction study.

BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common medical emergency. This study aimed to develop models to predict critically ill patients with upper GI bleeding in-hospital and 30-day survival, identify the correlation factor and infer the causality. METHODS: A total of 2898 patients with upper GI bleeding were included from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV and eICU-Collaborative Research Database, respectively. To identify the most critical factors contributing to the prognostic model, we used SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) for machine learning interpretability. We performed causal inference using inverse probability weighting for survival-associated prognostic factors. RESULTS: The optimal model using the light GBM (gradient boosting algorithm) algorithm achieved an AUC of .93 for in-hospital survival, .81 for 30-day survival in internal testing and .87 for in-hospital survival in external testing. Important factors for in-hospital survival, according to SHAP, were SOFA (Sequential organ failure assessment score), GCS (Glasgow coma scale) motor score and length of stay in ICU (Intensive critical care). In contrast, essential factors for 30-day survival were SOFA, length of stay in ICU, total bilirubin and GCS verbal score. Our model showed improved performance compared to SOFA alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our interpretable machine learning model for predicting in-hospital and 30-day mortality in critically ill patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding showed excellent accuracy and high generalizability. This model can assist clinicians in managing these patients to improve the discrimination of high-risk patients.

Influence of further decompensation on survival across clinical stages of decompensated cirrhosis: The role of portal hypertension and HVPG changes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Decompensated-cirrhosis encompasses several stages with different prognosis, such as bleeding, ascites and bleeding-plus-ascites. Development of further-decompensation worsens survival, while non-selective ß-blockers (NSBBs) can modify the risk. However, how this applies to each stage is uncertain. We aimed to investigate, in each stage of decompensated-cirrhosis, the influence of further-decompensation on mortality and whether changes in portal-pressure (HVPG) under NSBBs influence these outcomes. METHODS: Patients with variceal bleeding were consecutively included differentiating those with bleeding-alone from those who also had ascites. Patients with ascites and high-risk varices referred for primary-prophylaxis were also investigated. A baseline haemodynamic study was performed and was repeated after 1-3-months under NSBBs. Outcomes were investigated by competing-risk. RESULTS: Totally 103 patients had bleeding-alone, 186 bleeding-plus-ascites and 187 ascites-alone. Mean follow-up was 32-months (IQR, 12-60). Patients with bleeding-plus-ascites had higher HVPG and were more hyperdynamic than patients with ascites-alone and these than those with bleeding-alone. At each stage, the mortality risk was more than twice in patients developing further-decompensation vs. those without (p < .001). In each stage, HVPG-decrease under NSBBs showed better discrimination to predict further-decompensation than the baseline MELD, Child-Pugh or HVPG, by time-dependent ROC-curves (c-statistic >70%). At each stage, patients without HVPG-decreases, either ≥10% or ≥20% from the baseline, had higher risk of further-decompensation (sHR from 2.43 to 6.73, p < .01) and worse survival. CONCLUSIONS: In each stage of decompensated cirrhosis, mortality risk significantly and very markedly increase with further-decompensation. HVPG-non-response to NSBBs may adequately stratify the risk of further decompensation and death, in each stage. This suggests potential benefit with pre-emptive therapies in HVPG-non-responders at each-stage.

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding in COVID-19 patients: insights from the National Inpatient Sample.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective study, conducted using the U.S. National Inpatient Sample (NIS), examines the outcomes and management of nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) in COVID-19 patients and identifies predictive factors to enhance patient prognosis. METHODS: We analyzed the 2020 U.S. NIS data involving adult patients (≥18 years) admitted with NVUGIB and categorized them based on the presence of COVID-19. Primary and secondary outcomes, NVUGIB-related procedures, and predictive factors were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 184,885 adult patients admitted with NVUGIB, 1.6% (2990) had COVID-19. Patients with NVUGIB and COVID-19 showed higher inpatient mortality, acute kidney injury, need for intensive care, and resource utilization metrics. Notably, there was a lower rate of early esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Multivariate logistic regression revealed conditions like peptic ulcer disease, mechanical ventilation, and alcohol abuse as significant positive predictors for NVUGIB in COVID-19 patients, whereas female gender and smoking were negative predictors. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that COVID-19 significantly increases the risk of mortality and complications in NVUGIB patients. The observed decrease in early EGD interventions, potentially contributing to higher mortality rates, calls for a review of treatment strategies. Further multicenter, prospective studies are needed to validate these results and improve patient care strategies.

Proton pump inhibitor therapy after transcatheter angiography in refractory nonvariceal acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding patients: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter angiography (TA) could help to diagnose and treat refractory nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB). Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the key medication for reducing the rebleeding rate and mortality and are usually continued after TA. It is unknown whether high-dose PPIs after TA are more effective than the standard regimen. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data from patients who received TA because of refractory NVUGIB from 2010 to 2020 at West China Hospital. 244 patients were included and divided into two groups based on the first 3 days of PPIs treatment. All baseline characteristics were balanced using the inverse probability of treatment weighting method. The 30-day all-cause mortality, rebleeding rate and other outcomes were compared. The propensity score matching method was also used to verify the results. RESULTS: There were 86 patients in the high-dose group and 158 in the standard group. The average daily doses of PPI were 192.1 ± 17.9 mg and 77.8 ± 32.0 mg, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed no difference in the 30-day all-cause mortality (aHR 1.464, 95% CI 0.829 to 2.584) or rebleeding rate (aHR 1.020, 95% CI 0.693 to 1.501). There were no differences found in red blood cell transfusion, hospital stay length and further interventions, including endoscopy, repeating TA, surgery and ICU admission. The results were consistent in the subgroup analysis of patients with transcatheter arterial embolization. CONCLUSION: In refractory NVUGIB patients who received TA, regardless of whether embolization was performed, high-dose PPI treatment did not provide additional benefits compared with the standard regimen.

Risk factors and management of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with or without antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy: a multicenter real-world prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Antiplatelet and anticoagulation drugs complicate acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) patients. Limited data about the risk factors and patient management has been presented. This study explored the association between previous antiplatelet or anticoagulant drug usage and clinical outcomes in GIB patients to improve awareness further and optimize treatment. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, non-interventional, real-world prospective study in 106 hospitals in 23 provinces in China. GIB patients confirmed in the emergency department were included and were grouped according to previous drug histories. Univariate analysis, multivariate logistic regression, and multivariate stratification models were performed separately to investigate the associations. RESULTS: A total of 2299 patients (57.23 ± 17.21 years old, 68.3% male) were included, of whom 20.1% and 2.9% received antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy, respectively. The all-cause 28-day mortality rates in patients without antiplatelet or anticoagulants, patients undergoing antiplatelet treatment, and patients with anticoagulation therapy were 2.8%, 4.6%, and 10.5%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, both antiplatelet [odd ratio (OR), 2.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.48-5.76; p = 0.002] and anticoagulation therapy (OR, 8.87; 95% CI, 3.02-26.02; p < 0.001) were associated with higher 28-day mortality. In the subgroup analysis, blood transfusion, especially red blood cell transfusion, in patients undergoing antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy was associated with a decreased death risk. CONCLUSION: We confirmed an association between concurrent antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy in GIB patients and elevated 28-day mortality. Blood transfusions could improve poor outcomes in such patients.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width as a Risk Factor for 30/90-Day Mortality in Patients with Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Analysis of the MIMIC-IV Database.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to assess the relationship between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mortality in patients with gastrointestinal (GIB) bleeding in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: The information of the participants was obtained from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database. The main outcome of this research was 30/90-day mortality, with ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality as secondary outcomes. RESULTS: This research included 2924 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding in total. Patients with higher RDW had considerably higher 30/90-day and in-hospital mortality rates, as well as longer hospital stays and ICU stays. According to the Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 30/90-day mortality rate was remarkably higher among participants in the higher RDW group (P < 0.0001). In the adjusted multivariate Cox regression analysis, for 30-day mortality, the HR (95% CI) was 1.75 (1.37, 2.24) in comparison to Q1 in the reference group (P < 0.001). Analyses of 90-day mortality and in-hospital mortality both showed the same results. In the subgroup analysis, gender, myocardial infarction, chronic pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular disease and renal disease had no significant effect on the correlation between RDW values and mortality (all P > 0.05). The area under the ROC curve for RDW was 0.599 (95% CI 0.581-0.617) and 0.606 (95% CI 0.588-0.624) in 30/90-day ICU mortality. CONCLUSION: The current research showed that RDW could be utilized as an independent indicator of short-term mortality in critically ill GIB patients at 30 and 90 days of hospital admission.

Comparison of scoring systems for predicting clinical outcomes of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the performance of the Oakland, Glasgow-Blatchford, and AIMS65 scores in predicting the clinical outcomes of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted from July 2020 to July 2021. Patients admitted with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding were enrolled. The Oakland, Glasgow-Blatchford, and AIMS65 scores were calculated. The primary outcome was validating the performance of the scores in predicting severe LGIB; secondary outcomes were comparing the performance of the scores in predicting the need for blood transfusion, hemostatic interventions, in-hospital rebleeding, and mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for all outcomes. The associations between all three scores and the primary outcomes were calculated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Patients with acute LGIB (n = 150) were enrolled (88 [58.7%] men and mean age: 63.6 ± 17.3 years). The rates of severe LGIB, need for blood transfusion, hemostatic intervention, in-hospital rebleeding, and in-hospital mortality were 54.7%, 79.3%, 10.7%, and 3.3%, respectively. The Oakland and Glasgow-Blatchford scores had comparable performance in predicting severe LGIB, need for blood transfusion, and mortality, outperforming the AIMS65 score. All scores were suboptimal for predicting hemostatic interventions and rebleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the predictive performances of the Oakland score and the GBS are excellent and comparable for severe LGIB, the need for blood transfusion, and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute LGIB. Thus, GBS could be considered as an alternative predictive score for stratification of the patients with acute LGIB.

Shock Index as a Predictor of Mortality and Hospital Admission in Prehospital Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Shock Index (SI) as a predictive tool for triage of gastrointestinal bleeding (GI) in the prehospital setting, assessing its correlation with mortality, admission rates, and hospital length of stay. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed data from the ESO Data Collaborative encompassing EMS records from the year 2022, focusing on 1525 patients with a primary GI bleeding diagnosis. The primary measure was the SI, calculated at initial contact and highest recorded prior to ED arrival. Statistical analysis included t-tests, linear regression, and ROC curves, performed using SPSS v29. RESULTS: A significantly higher mean SI was observed in patients who died (mean SI 0.997) compared to survivors (mean SI 0.795), p < 0.001. Admission rates also correlated with higher SI values, p < 0.001. However, SI was not predictive of the hospital length of stay. ROC analysis for mortality prediction yielded an AUC of 0.656 for the initial SI and 0.739 for the highest SI. The standard SI cutoff of 0.9 predicted mortality with a sensitivity of 74.14% and specificity of 55.35% for the highest SI. CONCLUSION: The SI is a valuable predictive tool for mortality among prehospital patients with GI bleeding. Its application may improve the triage process, potentially influencing transport decisions and initial hospital care. Despite its predictive capability for mortality, the SI should be supplemented with other clinical assessments to make comprehensive prehospital care decisions. Further research into SI as part of a comprehensive assessment which includes end-title CO2, mentation, and heaviness of bleeding.

Prediction of 30-day in-hospital mortality in older UGIB patients using a simplified risk score and comparison with AIMS65 score.

BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in older patients is associated with substantial in-hospital morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to develop and validate a simplified risk score for predicting 30-day in-hospital mortality in this population. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 1899 UGIB patients aged ≥ 65 years admitted to a single medical center between January 2010 and December 2019. An additional cohort of 330 patients admitted from January 2020 to October 2021 was used for external validation. Variable selection was performed using five distinct methods, and models were generated using generalized linear models, random forest, support vector machine, and k-nearest neighbors approaches. The developed score, "ABCAP," incorporated Albumin < 30 g/L, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) > 7.5 mmol/L, Cancer presence, Altered mental status, and Pulse rate > 100/min, each assigned a score of 1. Internal and external validation procedures compared the ABCAP score with the AIMS65 score. RESULTS: In internal validation, the ABCAP score demonstrated robust predictive capability with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.878 (95% CI: 0.824-0.932), which was significantly better than the AIMS65 score (AUC: 0.827, 95% CI: 0.751-0.904), as revealed by the DeLong test (p = 0.048). External validation of the ABCAP score resulted in an AUC of 0.799 (95% CI: 0.709-0.889), while the AIMS65 score yielded an AUC of 0.743 (95% CI: 0.647-0.838), with no significant difference between the two scores based on the DeLong test (p = 0.16). However, the ABCAP score at the 3-5 score level demonstrated superior performance in identifying high-risk patients compared to the AIMS65 score. This score exhibited consistent predictive accuracy across variceal and non-variceal UGIB subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The ABCAP score incorporates easily obtained clinical variables and demonstrates promising predictive ability for 30-day in-hospital mortality in older UGIB patients. It allows effective mortality risk stratification and showed slightly better performance than the AIMS65 score. Further cohort validation is required to confirm generalizability.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of overt gastrointestinal bleeding in children undergoing haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a single-center retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Overt gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a potentially serious and life-threatening condition in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, relatively little information is available regarding overt GIB in children. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence, clinical patterns, and outcomes of overt GIB in children undergoing haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT). METHODS: A total of 123 consecutive patients with malignant or non-malignant blood disorders who received haplo-HSCT were reviewed in our hospital between October 2017 and October 2022. Overt GIB was determined as hematemesis, melena or hematochezia. Continuous variables were compared by Mann Whitney U test. Categorical parameters were compared by the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to assess overall survival (OS), non-relapse mortality (NRM) and relapse. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify potential risk factors of overt GIB development. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 26.3 (range,1.7-74.8) months. Overt GIB occurred in 31 patients (25.2% incidence), with a median time elapsed after haplo-HSCT of 376 days (range, 58-1275 days). Compared with the non-GIB group, patients with overt GIB had reduced OS and increased NRM. In multivariate analysis, grade III-IV gut acute graft versus-host disease (aGvHD), thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia were significant risk factors for the occurrence of overt GIB after haplo-HSCT. CONCLUSIONS: Overt GIB is a frequent complication after haplo-HSCT in pediatric patients, and associated with worse survival. Grade III-IV gut aGvHD, TMA and CMV viremia were associated with its development.

Thrombocytopenia and In-hospital outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing intravenous thrombolysis: Findings from a nationwide registry study in China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to evaluate the associations between platelet count (PC) and in-hospital outcomes for patients with stroke after rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis. METHODS: We identified patients who had been hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of stroke and had received rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis from June 2015 to July 2019 at participating hospitals in the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance. PC measured before intravenous thrombolysis was categorized into the following four groups: severe thrombocytopenia (PC < 100 × 109/L), mild thrombocytopenia (100 ≤ PC < 150 × 109/L), normal PC (150 ≤ PC ≤ 450 × 109/L), and thrombocythemia (PC > 450 × 109/L). Outcomes were determined from clinical data collected during hospitalization. The primary clinical outcome was symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH). Secondary outcomes were mortality, bleeding events, gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage, and in-hospital stroke recurrence. We used multivariate logistic regression models to evaluate the associations between PC and outcomes. RESULTS: We included 44,882 individuals with a median age of 66 years, of whom 34.7 % were female, 951 (2.1 %) had severe thrombocytopenia, 7218 (16.1 %) had mild thrombocytopenia, 36,522 (81.4 %) had a normal PC, and 191 (0.4 %) had thrombocythemia. Both severe and mild thrombocytopenia groups had higher risks of bleeding events (adjusted OR 1.30; 95 % CI,1.01-1.67; p = 0.045; adjusted OR 1.32; 95 % CI,1.19-1.46; p < 0.001) and sICH (adjusted OR 1.48;95 % CI,1.13-1.94; p = 0.005; adjusted OR 1.43;95 % CI,1.27-1.60; p < 0.001) than the normal PC group. Patients with 100 ≤ PC < 150 × 109/L also had a higher risk of in-hospital stroke recurrence (adjusted OR 1.12; 95 % CI,1.02-1.22; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous thrombolysis brings a high risk of sICH given PC < 150 × 109/L, especially PC < 100 × 109/L. It indicated that PC < 100 × 109/L is a reasonable contraindication to thrombolysis.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Oakland score versus haemoglobin for predicting outcomes in lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (ALGIB) is a common cause of hospitalization. Recent guidelines recommend the use of prognostic scales for risk stratification. However, it remains unclear whether risk scores are more accurate than some simpler prognostic variables. OBJECTIVE: To compare the predictive values of haemoglobin alone and the Oakland score for predicting outcomes in ALGIB patients. DESIGN: Single-centre, retrospective study at a University Hospital. Data were extracted from the hospital's clinical records. The Oakland score was calculated at admission. Study outcomes were defined according to the original article describing the Oakland score: safe discharge (the primary Oakland score outcome), transfusion, rebleeding, readmission, therapeutic intervention and death. Area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve and accuracy using haemoglobin and the Oakland score were calculated for each outcome. RESULTS: Two hundred and fifty-eight patients were included. Eighty-four (32.6%) needed transfusion, 50 (19.4%) presented rebleeding, 31 (12.1%) required therapeutic intervention, 20 (7.8%) were readmitted and six (2.3%) died. There were no differences in the AUROC curve values for haemoglobin versus the Oakland score with regard to safe discharge (0.82 (0.77-0.88) vs 0.80 (0.74-0.86), respectively) or to therapeutic intervention and death. Haemoglobin was significantly better for predicting transfusion and rebleeding, and the Oakland score was significantly better for predicting readmission. CONCLUSION: In our study, the Oakland score did not perform better than haemoglobin alone for predicting the outcome of patients with ALGIB. The usefulness of risk scores for predicting outcomes in clinical practice remains uncertain.

Clinical implementation of partial splenic artery embolization for the prevention of recurrent bleeding from esophageal varices in portal hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of PSAE for secondary prevention of VB episodes in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and CSPH. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty patients (from 2008 to 2020) were submitted of PSAE as secondary prevention treatment. The results of the treatment of 27 patients between 2008 and 2012 (first period) were compared with those of 93 patients treated with PSAE since 2013 (second period), as procedure and management protocol were modificated. VB recurrence rate and mortality (related and non-related to bleeding episodes) were defined as study end-points in both groups at 12-months follow-up. RESULTS: Results: At 12-months follow-up, 11 (40,7 %) and 54 (58,1 %) patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively, were free from VBs (p=0,129). Overall mortality rate was significantly higher in group 1, as compared to group 2: 10 (37,0 %) versus 6 (6,4 %) patients, respectively (p<0,001), - due to higher frequency of fatal VB events (7 (26,0 %) vs. 3 (3,2 %) patients, respectively; p=0,001). CONCLUSION: Conclusions: PSAE is an effective treatment for secondary prevention of VB in patients with CLD and CSPS. The management protocol modification resulted in the decrease in overall mortality rate and mortality related to recurrent VB episodes.

Timing of Endoscopy for Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

BACKGROUND: It is recommended that patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding undergo endoscopy within 24 hours after gastroenterologic consultation. The role of endoscopy performed within time frames shorter than 24 hours has not been adequately defined. METHODS: To evaluate whether urgent endoscopy improves outcomes in patients predicted to be at high risk for further bleeding or death, we randomly assigned patients with overt signs of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding and a Glasgow-Blatchford score of 12 or higher (scores range from 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of further bleeding or death) to undergo endoscopy within 6 hours (urgent-endoscopy group) or between 6 and 24 hours (early-endoscopy group) after gastroenterologic consultation. The primary end point was death from any cause within 30 days after randomization. RESULTS: A total of 516 patients were enrolled. The 30-day mortality was 8.9% (23 of 258 patients) in the urgent-endoscopy group and 6.6% (17 of 258) in the early-endoscopy group (difference, 2.3 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.3 to 6.9). Further bleeding within 30 days occurred in 28 patients (10.9%) in the urgent-endoscopy group and in 20 (7.8%) in the early-endoscopy group (difference, 3.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -1.9 to 8.1). Ulcers with active bleeding or visible vessels were found on initial endoscopy in 105 of the 158 patients (66.4%) with peptic ulcers in the urgent-endoscopy group and in 76 of 159 (47.8%) in the early-endoscopy group. Endoscopic hemostatic treatment was administered at initial endoscopy for 155 patients (60.1%) in the urgent-endoscopy group and for 125 (48.4%) in the early-endoscopy group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were at high risk for further bleeding or death, endoscopy performed within 6 hours after gastroenterologic consultation was not associated with lower 30-day mortality than endoscopy performed between 6 and 24 hours after consultation. (Funded by the Health and Medical Fund of the Food and Health Bureau, Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01675856.).

Geriatric mortality risk factors in emergency department for non-traumatic abdominal pain.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to determine the factors affecting the mortality of geriatric patients presenting to the emergency department with non-traumatic abdominal pain, as well as the associations of these factors with mortality. BACKGROUND: With the increasing number of elderly patients, early recognition of patients with risk-bearing diagnoses is crucial. METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study included 466 patients over 65 years of age who were admitted to THE emergency department of a tertiary hospital and consented to participate. Data was collected on patient demographics, vital signs, chronic diseases, laboratory investigations, diagnoses, disposition, and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean patient age was 74.42 years, with 47.4 % being male and 52.6 % female. 15.6 % of the patients had nonspecific causes. The risk of mortality within one month was 5.797 times higher in patients with neurological diseases and 5.183 times higher in those with a history of surgery. A one-unit decrease in hemoglobin increased the mortality risk by 0.656 times. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of careful evaluation of elderly patients with neurological diseases, previous surgical history, and anemia in the emergency department with non-traumatic abdominal pain (Tab. 5, Ref. 18).

Effects of Early Placement of Transjugular Portosystemic Shunts in Patients With High-Risk Acute Variceal Bleeding: a Meta-analysis of Individual Patient Data.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Compared with drugs plus endoscopy, placement of transjugular portosystemic shunt within 72 hours of admission to the hospital (early or preventive transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt [TIPS], also called preemptive TIPS) increases the proportion of high-risk patients with cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding who survive for 1 year. However, the benefit of preemptive TIPS is less clear for patients with a Child-Pugh score of B and active bleeding (CP-B+AB). We performed an individual data meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of preemptive TIPS in these patients and identify factors associated with reduced survival of patients receiving preemptive TIPS. METHODS: We searched publication databases for randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing the effects of preemptive TIPS versus endoscopy plus nonselective beta-blockers in the specific population of high-risk patients with cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding (CP-B+AB or Child-Pugh C, below 14 points), through December 31, 2019. We performed a meta-analysis of data from 7 studies (3 randomized controlled trials and 4 observational studies), comprising 1327 patients (310 received preemptive TIPS and 1017 received drugs plus endoscopy). We built adjusted models to evaluate risk using propensity score for baseline covariates. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to assess the factors associated with survival time. The primary endpoint was effects of preemptive TIPS versus drugs plus endoscopy on 1-year survival in the overall population as well as CP-B+AB and Child-Pugh C patients. RESULTS: Overall, preemptive TIPS significantly increased the proportion of high-risk patients with cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding who survived for 1 year, compared with drugs plus endoscopy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.443; 95% CI 0.323-0.607; P < .001). This effect was observed in CP-B+AB patients (HR 0.524; 95% CI 0.307-0.896; P = .018) and in patients with Child-Pugh C scores below 14 points (HR 0.374; 95% CI 0.253-0.553; P < .001). Preemptive TIPS significantly improved control of bleeding and ascites without increasing risk of hepatic encephalopathy in Child-Pugh C and CP-B+AB patients, compared with drugs plus endoscopy. Cox analysis of patients who received preemptive TIPS showed that patients could be classified into 3 categories for risk of death, based on age, serum level of creatinine, and Child-Pugh score. In each of these risk categories, preemptive TIPS increased the proportion of patients who survived for 1 year, compared with drugs plus endoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: In a meta-analysis of data from 1327 patients with cirrhosis, acute variceal bleeding, and Child-Pugh score between 10 and 13 points or CP-B+AB, preemptive TIPS increased the proportion who survived for 1 year, in both subgroups separately, compared with drugs plus endoscopy.

Tranexamic Acid in Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Tranexamic acid is proposed as a treatment for gastrointestinal bleeding. The Haemorrhage Alleviation with Tranexamic Acid-Intestinal System trial evaluated extended-use (24 hr) high-dose tranexamic acid, prompting a reappraisal for tranexamic acid in gastrointestinal bleeding. DATA SOURCES: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing tranexamic acid with usual care or placebo in adults with gastrointestinal bleeding. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL (inception to September 2019). DATA SELECTION: Two reviewers independently screened citations, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool in duplicate. The main outcomes were mortality, bleeding, and adverse events. DATA EXTRACTION: Studies were analyzed as high-dose IV tranexamic acid versus all other dosing strategies for tranexamic acid using fixed-effects models. We assessed certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. DATA SYNTHESIS: Five randomized controlled trials evaluated extended-use high-dose IV tranexamic acid, seven evaluating low-dose IV or enteral tranexamic acid. Extended-use high-dose IV tranexamic acid did not reduce mortality (relative risk, 0.98%; 95% CI, 0.88-1.09; I2 = 63%; high certainty) or bleeding (relative risk, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.82-1.04; p = 0.17 and absolute risk differences, -0.7%; 95% CI, -1.5 to 0.3; high certainty) but resulted in a small increase in deep venous thrombosis (relative risk, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.08-3.72; I2 = 0%), pulmonary embolism (relative risk, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.06-3.0; I2 = 0%), and seizure (relative risk, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.03-2.93) with high certainty. Low-dose IV/enteral tranexamic acid did not reduce mortality (relative risk, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.36-1.09; I2 = 0%) but did reduce risk of rebleeding (relative risk, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.33-0.75; I2 = 9%) and need for surgery (relative risk, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38-0.88; I2 = 11%), with moderate certainty. CONCLUSIONS: Extended-use high-dose IV tranexamic acid does not improve mortality or bleeding outcomes and increases adverse events. Low-dose/enteral tranexamic acid may be effective in reducing hemorrhage; more evidence is required to demonstrate its safety.

Risk Stratification Based on Chronic Liver Failure Consortium Acute Decompensation Score in Patients With Child-Pugh B Cirrhosis and Acute Variceal Bleeding.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Optimal candidates for early transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in patients with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding (AVB) remain unclear. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that risk stratification using the Chronic Liver Failure Consortium Acute Decompensation score (CLIF-C ADs) may be useful to identify a subgroup at high risk of mortality or further bleeding that may benefit from early TIPS in patients with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and AVB. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We analyzed the pooled individual data from two previous studies of 608 patients with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and AVB who received standard treatment between 2010 and 2017 in China. The concordance index values of CLIF-C ADs for 6-week and 1-year mortality (0.715 and 0.708) were significantly better than those of active bleeding at endoscopy (0.633 [P < 0.001] and 0.556 [P < 0.001]) and other prognostic models. With X-tile software identifying an optimal cutoff value, patients were categorized as low risk (CLIF-C ADs <48), intermediate risk (CLIF-C ADs 48-56), and high risk (CLIF-C ADs >56), with a 5.6%, 16.8%, and 25.4% risk of 6-week death, respectively. Nevertheless, the performance of CLIF-C ADs for predicting a composite endpoint of 6-week death or further bleeding was not satisfactory (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve [AUC], 0.588). A nomogram incorporating components of CLIF-C ADs and albumin, platelet, active bleeding, and ascites significantly improved the prediction accuracy (AUC, 0.725). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and AVB, risk stratification using CLIF-C ADs identifies a subgroup with high risk of death that may derive survival benefit from early TIPS. With improved prediction accuracy for 6-week death or further bleeding, the data-driven nomogram may help to stratify patients in randomized trials. Future external validation of these findings in patients with different etiologies is required.

Endoscopic Cyanoacrylate Injection Versus Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration for Prevention of Gastric Variceal Bleeding: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The optimal treatment for gastric varices (GVs) is a topic that remains open for study. This study compared the efficacy and safety of endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) to prevent rebleeding in patients with cirrhosis and GVs after primary hemostasis. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Patients with cirrhosis and history of bleeding from gastroesophageal varices type 2 or isolated gastric varices type 1 were randomized to cyanoacrylate injection (n = 32) or BRTO treatment (n = 32). Primary outcomes were gastric variceal rebleeding or all-cause rebleeding. Patient characteristics were well balanced between two groups. Mean follow-up time was 27.1 ± 12.0 months in a cyanoacrylate injection group and 27.6 ± 14.3 months in a BRTO group. Probability of gastric variceal rebleeding was higher in the cyanoacrylate injection group than in the BRTO group (P = 0.024). Probability of remaining free of all-cause rebleeding at 1 and 2 years for cyanoacrylate injection versus BRTO was 77% versus 96.3% and 65.2% versus 92.6% (P = 0.004). Survival rates, frequency of complications, and worsening of esophageal varices were similar in both groups. BRTO resulted in fewer hospitalizations, inpatient stays, and lower medical costs. CONCLUSIONS: BRTO is more effective than cyanoacrylate injection in preventing rebleeding from GVs, with similar frequencies of complications and mortalities.