Clinical Profile, Severity and Outcome of Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Elderly Patients Compared to Non-elderly Patients: A Prospective Observational Study.

AIM: To determine the clinical profile, severity and outcome of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in elderly subjects (>60 years) compared to the non elderly ones (<60 years).

METHODS

In a prospective observational study, 380 consecutive adult patients presenting with acute UGIB were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups: elderly (≥60 years) and non-elderly (<60 years).

RESULTS

Out of 380 patients, 254(66.84%) patients were non-elderly and 126(33.15%) patients were elderly. The proportion of patients with co-morbidity and consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was higher among elderly patients. The commonest mode of presentation was hematemesis and melena in the both groups, while isolated hematochezia (29% vs. 1.9%, p<0.01) was more common in elderly group. The variceal bleeding was significantly higher among non-elderly group (38.1% vs. 18.2%, p<0.01) and bleeding from gastric or duodenal ulcer was the predominant cause of bleeding among elderly group (65% vs. 43% p<0.01). The proportion of patients with tachycardia (68.2% vs. 20%, p<0.01), postural hypotension (29.3% vs. 14.9%, p<0.01) and blood transfusion requirement of 4 units or more (20.2% vs. 10.1%, p<0.01) was significantly higher among elderly group than in non-elderly group. Despite similar re-bleeding rates, mortality rate was significantly higher in elderly patients compared to the non-elderly patients (10.32% vs. 1.94%, p<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Nearly 33% of the patients with acute UGIB are over 60 years old. The severity of bleeding and mortality rates was higher in elderly in comparison to non-elderly patients.