Scoring systems used to predict mortality in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the ED

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a potentially life-threatening condition that requires rapid assessment in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to compare the performance of the AIMS65, Glasgow-Blatchford (Blatchford), preendoscopic Rockall (pre-Rockall), and preendoscopic Baylor bleeding (pre-Baylor) scores in predicting 30-day mortality in patients with acute UGIB in the ED setting.

Consecutive patients with acute UGIB who were admitted to the ED ward during 2012-2016 were retrospectively recruited. Data were retrieved from the admission list of the ED using international classification of disease codes via computer registration. The predictive accuracy of these four scores was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) method.

Among the 395 patients included during the study period, the total 30-day mortality rate was 10.4% (41/395). The AIMS65 and Glasgow-Blatchford scores performed better with an AUC of 0.907 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.852-0.963; P<0.001) and 0.870 (95% confidence interval, 0.833-0.902; P<0.001) compared with other scoring systems (preendoscopic Rockall score: AUC, 0.709; 95% CI, 0.635-0.784; P<0.001; preendoscopic Baylor score: AUC, 0.523; 95% CI, 0.472-0.573; P>0.05).

In patients with acute UGIB in the ED, the AIMS65 and Glasgow-Blatchford scores are clinically more useful for predicting 30-day mortality than the preendoscopic Rockall and preendoscopic Baylor scores. The AIMS65 score might be more ideal for risk stratification in the ED setting.