Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) remains a common disease
affecting 100 to 170 per 100 000 adults per year and causing
thereby a significant burden to healthcare resources. Despite the
improvements in the management of this disorder, the associated
mortality ranges from 5 to 14%.
Since the general management of UGIB is not uniform, the main
objective of this work is to provide guidelines for the care of adults
and children presenting with bleeding caused by gastro-duodenal
ulcer or variceal rupture.
Methods : In the absence of evidence-based recommendations,
these guidelines were proposed after expert opinions reconciliation
and graded accordingly. They are based on the published literature
up to September 2010 and graded according to the class of
evidence.
Results : The current guidelines for the management of UGIB
include recommendations for the diagnostic process, general supportive
care, pharmacological therapy aiming at bleeding control,
specific and endoscopic treatment of acute bleeding and follow-up
for both gastro-duodenal ulcers and portal hypertension-induced
bleeding. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2011, 74, 45-66).