Early Endoscopy Decrease the Length of Hospital Stay and the Costs in Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Internal Medicine
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a frequent cause for hospitalization.
• The efficacy of early endoscopy in managing upper GI bleeding remains debated.
• Non-variceal causes constitute a significant proportion of acute upper GI bleeding cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the benefits of early endoscopy in patients with acute non-variceal upper GI bleeding.
• To characterize the epidemiological features of patients presenting with this condition.
• To assess the impact of endoscopy timing on clinical outcomes and resource utilization.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study including patients over 18 with upper GI bleeding from 2015-2016.
• Patients were categorized into early (within 24 hours) and late (after 24 hours) endoscopy groups.
• Outcomes analyzed included transfusion needs, re-bleeding, surgery, mortality, length of stay, and treatment costs.

Main Results:

• The study included 104 patients, with a mean age of 66.27 years; 76.9% underwent early endoscopy.
• No significant differences were observed in transfusion needs, re-bleeding, surgery, or mortality between early and late endoscopy groups.
• Early endoscopy was associated with increased length of hospital stay (P=0.011) and treatment costs (P=0.030).

Conclusions:

• Performing endoscopy within 24 hours for acute upper non-variceal GI bleeding does not reduce re-bleeding, transfusion needs, surgical intervention, or mortality.
• Early endoscopy is linked to longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs.
• The timing of endoscopy should be carefully considered in managing acute upper GI bleeding to optimize resource allocation.