title: The Mallory-Weiss lesion as a cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
abstract: A prospective study of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding admitted to a haematemesis and melaena unit has revealed an incidence of Mallory-Weiss tears of 8% (59 of 762 patients undergoing endoscopy). Prior vomiting was present in 60% and an associated upper gastrointestinal lesion in 44 percent. The majority of patients had a recent ingestion of alcohol and/or analgesics, whilst 34% had chronic heavy alcohol intake. Approximately 50% of patients required no blood transfusion, while 37% had over three units of blood. No patient in the group required surgical intervention, and one patient died because of general debility. This study suggests that the Mallory-Weiss tear accounts for a significant proportion of patients admitted with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, but that the mortality and morbidity are low.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D000700:Analgesics / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008309:Mallory-Weiss Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics