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Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

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Common Problems in Acute Care Surgery

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Abstract

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common problem and frequently generates a consult for the acute care surgeon. Although very few patients with this complaint ultimately have any surgical intervention, surgeons have historically been intimately involved in the management of UGIB patients. With the discovery of Helicobacter pylori, effective H. pylori treatment and eradication regimens have greatly decreased the incidence of peptic ulcer disease as well as shifted the algorithm away from surgical treatment. Moreover, there appears to be a decreasing incidence and mortality of peptic ulcer disease as well as a decrease in acute UGIB related to peptic ulcer disease [1]. Recent data suggests that surgical intervention for any symptom or complication of peptic ulcer disease have declined more than 80 % [2]. Moreover, the fields of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy as well as interventional radiology have expanded in directions that have had a huge impact on the treatment options available for the patient with an UGIB. The role of the surgeon will often be to assist their colleagues in guiding the patient into an informed and evidence based plan of action.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery, Arizona Health Science Center, University of Arizona Medical Center, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Lynn Gries M.D.

  2. Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Room 5411, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA

    Peter Rhee M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.M., D.M.C.C.

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  1. Lynn Gries M.D.
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  2. Peter Rhee M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.M., D.M.C.C.
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Correspondence to Peter Rhee M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.M., D.M.C.C. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Science Center, Department of Surgery, The University of Texas Health, 6431 Fannin Street, MSB 4.292, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Laura J. Moore

  2. The Methodist Hospital, Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, 6550 Fannin St, SM 1661A, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Krista L. Turner

  3. School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, New York University, 550 First Avenue, New Bellevue 15 East 9, New York, 10016, New York, USA

    S. Rob Todd

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Gries, L., Rhee, P. (2013). Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding. In: Moore, L., Turner, K., Todd, S. (eds) Common Problems in Acute Care Surgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6123-4_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6123-4_19

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