Sandbox:ssw 2

 Initial assessment and risk stratification 

Strong recommendation(Class I)

1. Hemodynamic status should be assessed immediately upon presentation and resuscitative measures begun as needed.

Conditional recommendation(Class IIa)

1.Blood transfusions should target hemoglobin  ≥ 7   g / dl, with higher hemoglobins targeted in patients with clinical evidence of intravascular volume depletion or comorbidities, such as coronary artery disease. 2. Risk assessment should be performed to stratify patients into higher and lower risk categories and may assist in initial decisions such as the timing of endoscopy, time of discharge, and level of care.  3. Discharge from the emergency department without inpatient endoscopy may be considered in patients with urea nitrogen < 18.2   mg / dl; hemoglobin ≥  13.0   g / dl for men (12.0   g / dl for women), systolic blood pressure  ≥  110   mm   Hg; pulse   100 beats / min; and absence of melena, syncope, cardiac failure, and liver disease, as they have  <1 %  chance of requiring intervention.

Pre-endoscopic medical therapy

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1. Intravenous infusion of erythromycin (250 mg ~ 30 min before endoscopy) should be considered to improve diagnostic yield and decrease the need for repeat endoscopy. However, erythromycin has not consistently been shown to improve clinical outcomes

2. Pre-endoscopic intravenous PPI (e.g., 80 mg bolus followed by 8 mg / h infusion) may be considered to decrease the proportion of patients who have higher risk stigmata of hemorrhage at endoscopy and who receive endoscopic therapy. However, PPIs do not improve clinical outcomes such as further bleeding, surgery, or death

3. If endoscopy will be delayed or cannot be performed, intravenous PPI is recommended to reduce further bleeding.

Gastric lavage

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1. Nasogastric or orogastric lavage is not required in patients with UGIB for diagnosis, prognosis, visualization, or therapeutic effect

Timing of endoscopy

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

Timing of endoscopy 1. Patients with UGIB should generally undergo endoscopy within 24 h of admission, following resuscitative efforts to optimize hemodynamic parameters and other medical problems.

2. In patients who are hemodynamically stable and without serious comorbidities endoscopy should be performed as soon as possible in a non-emergent setting to identify the substantial proportion of patients with low-risk endoscopic fi ndings who can be safely discharged.

3. In patients with higher risk clinical features (e.g., tachycardia, hypotension, bloody emesis or nasogastric aspirate in hospital) endoscopy within 12 h may be considered to potentially improve clinical outcomes.

Endoscopic diagnosis

Strong recommendation (Class I)

1. Stigmata of recent hemorrhage should be recorded as they predict risk of further bleeding and guide management decisions. The stigmata, in descending risk of further bleeding, are active spurting, non-bleeding visible vessel, active oozing, adherent clot, fl at pigmented spot, and clean base .

Endoscopic therapy

Strong recommendation Class I

1. Endoscopic therapy should be provided to patients with active spurting or oozing bleeding or a non-bleeding visible vessel.

2. Endoscopic therapy should not be provided to patients who have an ulcer with a clean base or a fl at pigmented spot .

3. Epinephrine therapy should not be used alone. If used, it should be combined with a second modality.

4. Thermal therapy with bipolar electrocoagulation or heater probe and injection of sclerosant (e.g., absolute alcohol) are recommended because they reduce further bleeding, need for surgery, and mortality.

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1. Endoscopic therapy may be considered for patients with an adherent clot resistant to vigorous irrigation. Benefi t may be greater in patients with clinical features potentially associated with a higher risk of rebleeding (e.g., older age, concurrent illness, inpatient at time bleeding began).

2. Clips are recommended because they appear to decrease further bleeding and need for surgery. However, comparisons of clips vs. other therapies yield variable results and currently used clips have not been well studied .

3. For the subset of patients with actively bleeding ulcers, thermal therapy or epinephrine plus a second modality may be preferred over clips or sclerosant alone to achieve initial hemostasis .

Medical therapy after endoscopy

Strong recommendation (Class I)

1. After successful endoscopic hemostasis, intravenous PPI therapy with 80 mg bolus followed by 8 mg/h continuous infusion for 72 h should be given to patients who have an ulcer with active bleeding, a non-bleeding visible vessel, or an adherent clot.

2. Patients with ulcers that have fl at pigmented spots or clean bases can receive standard PPI therapy (e.g., oral PPI once daily).

Repeat endoscopy

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1. Routine second-look endoscopy, in which repeat endoscopy is performed 24 h after initial endoscopic hemostatic therapy, is not recommended.

2.If further bleeding occurs after a second endoscopic therapeutic session, surgery or interventional radiology with transcathether arterial embolization is generally employed

Hospitalization

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1.Patients with high-risk stigmata (active bleeding, visible vessels, clots) should generally be hospitalized for 3 days assuming no rebleeding and no other reason for hospitalization. They may be fed clear liquids soon after endoscopy.

Strong recommendation (Class I)

1.Patients with clean-based ulcers may receive a regular diet and be discharged after endoscopy assuming they are hemodynamically stable, their hemoglobin is stable, they have no other medical problems, and they have a residence where they can be observed by a responsible adult.

Long-term prevention of recurrent bleeding ulcers

Strong recommendation (Class I)

1.Patients with H. pylori -associated bleeding ulcers should receive H. pylori therapy. After documentation of eradication, maintenance antisecretory therapy is not needed unless the patient also requires NSAIDs or antithrombotics.

2. In patients with NSAID-associated bleeding ulcers, the need for NSAIDs should be carefully assessed and NSAIDs should not be resumed if possible. In patients who must resume NSAIDs, a COX-2 selective NSAID at the lowest effective dose plus daily PPI is recommended.

Conditional recommendation (Class IIa)

1.In patients with low-dose aspirin-associated bleeding ulcers, the need for aspirin should be assessed. If given for secondary prevention (i.e., established cardiovascular disease) then aspirin should be resumed as soon as possible after bleeding ceases in most patients: ideally within 1 – 3 days and certainly within 7 days. Long-term daily PPI therapy should also be provided. If given for primary prevention (i.e., no established cardiovascular disease), anti-platelet therapy likely should not be resumed in most patients.

2. In patients with idiopathic (non- H. pylori , non-NSAID) ulcers, long-term antiulcer therapy (e.g., daily PPI) is recommended.