National ASGE survey on upper gastrointestinal bleeding: complications of endoscopy

Data about the risks of upper endoscopy in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding was gathered as part of a prospective national survey of the ASGE membership. Endoscopic complications occurred in 21 of 2320 endoscopies (0.9%). These included 12 major (perforation, aspiration, bleeding) and 9 minor (mucosal tear, medication reaction, transient cardiac or pulmonary episode) complications. There were 3 deaths attributable to major complications of the procedure. These fatalities all occurred in patients with severe major underlying illnesses. Although these results indicate a higher complication rate than earlier retrospective ASGE surveys on endoscopy, they are comparable to other available data about the risks of endoscopy in the specific group of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.