title: Mortality in patients with haematemesis and melaena: a prospective study.
abstract: In a prospective study of death in 817 patients with haematemesis and melaena admitted on 894 occasions, the protocol included admission of all patients to a defined unit, early endoscopy and resuscitation, and planned management. Over the three consecutive two-year periods of the study mortality significantly decreased from 9% to 2.4%. Although the operative rate remained the same, the operative mortality fell from 16% to 1.6%. The fall in mortality was greatest in patients with bleeding gastric ulcers. These results suggest that prospective studies with a defined policy can influence the mortality in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D006396:Hematemesis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008551:Melena / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom