Refractory Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Requiring Surgical Intervention

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeds are a common emergency. Mortality in patients with an upper GI bleed has been reported to be as high as 30% for those who bleed inpatient. Definitive management after resuscitation can be done with endoscopy, transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE), and/or surgery. A 55-year-old female with multiple comorbidities presented with a refractory second episode of an acute nonvariceal upper GI bleed that required an interdisciplinary approach with the following interventions: endoscopy, embolization, and ultimately surgery. In this case report, the discussion is about the management algorithm of nonvariceal upper GI bleeds as well as the literature on prophylactic embolization and GI rebleeding. This unusual case presented with continued bleeding despite embolization, which led to the emergent rescue surgery that was necessary for this patient. Important take-home points are that patients with therapeutic hemostasis of upper GI bleeds may have rebleeding, a second attempt at therapeutic endoscopy after rebleeding may be limited due to a brisk bleed, the literature about prophylactic embolization is controversial, and one should involve both interventional radiology and surgery early on to assess a patient's clinical picture for further definitive interventions from both specialties.