Efficacy of absolute ethanol injection for upper gastrointestinal massive bleedings with hemorrhagic shock

We applied the absolute ethanol injection method in 182 cases of massive bleeding with hemorrhagic shock before the performance of emergency endoscopy in 627 cases of upper gastrointestinal bleeding at our department and five related institutions since June 1979. Following results were obtained: Temporary hemostasis could not be obtained in only 2 (1.1%) out of 182 cases; in the remaining 180 cases bleeding was ceased. Rebleeding was seen in 15 cases (8.2%) and new bleeding in 17 cases (9.3%). In 21 (66%) of these cases hemostasis was obtained again by the absolute ethanol injection method. Eight patients (4.4%) underwent emergency operation and 4 patients (2.2%) died from bleeding. The complete hemostasis was obtained in 170 cases (93.4%).