Aetiology and Management Outcome of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Adult Patients Presenting at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM : Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is one of the commonest gastrointestinal emergencies. Endoscopy done within the first 24 hours of bleeding has been shown to be the most reliable means of establishing the source of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. This study was carried out to determine the aetiology and management outcome of patients with UGIB presenting at our facility located in Southwest Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHOD : 67 patients who presented with UGIB and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy between April 2010 and March 2011 at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado- Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria were retrospectively studied, relevant data extracted and analysed. RESULTS : The demographic data of the patients showed a mean age of 41.84± 12.81 years, (ages ranged from 17 to 75 years), 40 (59.7%) were males while 27 (40.3%) were females giving a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. Clinical presentations included haematemesis and melena in 26 (38.8%), followed by haematemesis in 22 (32.8%) and melena in 19 (28.4%) of the patients. Antral mucosal erosions were the commonest cause of UGIB (49%), followed by peptic ulcer disease (25.4%), varices (11.9%) and gastric mass (1.5%). No cause for UGIB was found in 8 cases (11.9%). Endoscopy diagnostic accuracy was greater within the first 24 hours of the bleeding onset compared to those who had it done later (p<0.003). Three patients died giving a mortality rate of 4.5%. These deaths were recorded from among the variceal bleeding group giving a mortality rate of 42.9% in this group of patients. CONCLUSION : Antral mucosal erosions were the commonest cause of UGIB in our environment. NSAIDS intake was very high among the populace, especially in mucosal erosion group leading to high morbidity, absent from work and huge financial cost. It is recommended that serious awareness campaigns be mounted to educate the populace of the dangers inherent in indiscriminate use of NSAIDS in our society. As endoscopy diagnostic accuracy was greater within the first 24 hours of the bleeding onset, it is equally recommended that early endoscopy should be performed within 24 h of the onset of bleeding.