The Natural History of Hematemesis in the 21st Century

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding occurs at a rate of 40-150 episodes per 100,000 persons per year and is associated with a mortality rate of 6%-10%. We sought to determine the need for therapeutic endoscopy or surgical interventions in patients with hematemesis and the association with blood transfusion requirements.

We queried the database of our large teaching facility for adult patients presenting with obvious upper GI hemorrhage (hematemesis) between 2014 and 2017. We evaluated the amount of blood transfusions administered and the need for operative, endoscopic or angiographic interventions.

Eighty-one patients were admitted with hematemesis: mean age was 63 years old (range 21-103), 60% were male, and mean hemoglobin was 11.3 g/dL (range 3.6-15.6). Forty-one percent received blood transfusions with a mean of one unit transfused per patient (range 0-10); 9% received ≥ 3 units of packed red blood cells. Bleeding stopped spontaneously in 88% of patients and nine died. Forty-seven percent underwent inpatient endoscopy but only 6% underwent a therapeutic endoscopic intervention. No patient had a surgical or interventional radiologic procedure related to their GI bleed.

Upper GI bleeding rarely requires operative or interventional radiologic intervention. Blood transfusions were not predictive of the need for therapeutic endoscopic intervention which was required in only 6% of patients.