Does haemostatic therapy improve the prognosis in upper gastrointestinal bleeding?
Nikolopoulou, V.; Katsakoulis, E.; Thomopoulos, K.; Tsiotos, P.
British Journal of Clinical Practice 49(4): 186-188
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0007-0947 PMID: 7547158 Document Number: 439210
A study was conducted of 816 patients with peptic ulcer haemorrhage, comparing outcome before and after the introduction of endoscopic therapy. The control group comprised 505 patients admitted with bleeding due to benign peptic ulcer over a 5-year period before endoscopic therapy, and 311 patients after introduction of endoscopic therapy were studied prospectively. The two groups were well matched for age, sex, shock, endoscopic findings and use of ulcerogenic drugs. The introduction of endoscopic therapy was associated with a reduction in surgical intervention and mortality rates for gastric and duodenal ulcer. The beneficial effects of endoscopic therapy appear to be due to a reduction in the need for surgical intervention in patients with an ulcer base visible vessel. The authors suggest that endoscopic injection therapy may result in an improved outcome from peptic ulcer haemorrhage. Adrenaline injection treatment seems to be the treatment of choice in view of its simplicity, low cost and availability.