Long-term mortality of patients admitted to the intensive care unit for gastrointestinal bleeding.
OBJECTIVE
Long-term mortality data for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeders is scarce in the literature. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the long-term mortality of patients admitted to two intensive care units with a primary diagnosis of GI bleeding.


METHODS
The charts of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) with GI bleeding were reviewed and the data of the patients' first day in the MICU was used to calculate APACHE III and Charlson scores. A GI bleeding score was computed by combining endoscopic findings and units of blood transfused during patients' MICU stay. Mortality data was obtained from the Vital Statistics Department of Montgomery County, Dayton, OH. Survival data and predictability of mortality based on these scores were assessed.


RESULTS
Mean age of the 66 patient cohort was 58.6 years. Twenty-six of 51 patients with upper GI bleeding, five of seven patients with lower GI bleeding, and four of eight patients with unknown site of bleeding died within 7 years. Charlson score correlated significantly with the mortality prediction, whereas the APACHE III and bleeding scores did not.


CONCLUSIONS
All-cause and GI bleeding-related 7-year mortality for patients admitted to the MICU with GI bleeding was lower than the rates cited in the literature. The Charlson score was helpful in predicting mortality.
Gopalswamy
Narasimh
N
Department of Medicine, VA Medical Center, 4100 Wst Third Street, 111, Dayton, OH 45428, USA. n.gopalswamy@med.va.gov
Malhotra
Vikas
V
Reddy
Niranjan
N
Singh
Brij M
BM
Markert
Ronald J
RJ
Sangal
Satya
S
Jordan
Roy
R
D018806:APACHE; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis