Backgroud Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding is a common medical emergency with a hospital mortality of approximately 10 percent. Higher mortality rate is associated with rebleeding. Rockall scoring system identifies patients at higher risk of rebleed and mortality.Objective To study the clinical and endoscopic profile of acute upper gastrointestinal bleed to know the etiology, clinical presentation, severity of bleeding and outcome.Method This is a prospective, descriptive hospital based study conducted in Gastroenterology unit of College of Medical Sciences and Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal from January 2012 to January 2013. It included 120 patients at random presenting with manifestations of upper gastrointestinal bleed. Their clinical and endoscopic profiles were studied. Rockall scoring system was used to assess their prognosis.Result Males were predominant (75%). Age ranged from 14 to 88 years, mean being 48.76+17.19. At presentation 86 patients (71.7%) had both hematemesis and malena, 24 patients (20%) had only malena and 10 patients (8.3%) had only hematemesis. Shock was detected in 21.7%, severe anemia and high blood urea were found in 34.2% and 38.3% respectively. Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding endoscopy revealed esophageal varices (47.5%), peptic ulcer disease (33.3%), erosive mucosal disease (11.6%), Mallory Weiss tear (4.1%) and malignancy (3.3%). Median hospital stay was 7.28+3.18 days. Comorbidities were present in 43.3%. Eighty six patients (71.7%) had Rockall score < 5 and 34 (28.3%) had >6. Five patients (4.2%) expired. Risk factors for death being massive rebleeeding, comorbidities and Rockall score >6.Conclusion Acute Upper Gastrointestinal bleeding is a medical emergency. Mortality is associated with massive bleeding, comorbidities and Rockall score >6. Urgent, appropriate hospital management definitely helps to reduce morbidity and mortality.Kathmandu University Medical Journal Vol.12(1) 2014: 21-25

Introduction: The worldwide accepted tool for screening and monitoring gastro-oesophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis is upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Endoscopy needs clinical expertise and has got its own procedure related complications. Repeated endoscopies may be expensive and patients tend to develop poor compliance. This study was undertaken to establish the role of noninvasive parameters in predicting gastro-esophageal varices. Methods: Two hundred patients with clinical features, laboratory and sonological findings suggestive of cirrhosis of liver and endoscopic evidence of portal hypertension were included in the study. Blood parameters like serum albumin, international normalized ratio (INR), platelets count and ultrasonography assessments of portal vein diameter and spleen size were compared with presence of gastro-oesophageal varices. Results: At cutoff point of 2.55g/dl, serum albumin had high specificity of 99% whereas platelets count <1,44,000/mm3 had 87.9% sensitivity for presence of oesophageal varices. Sensitivities of 92.72% and 94.5% while specificities of 90% and 75% were detected for presence of oesophageal varices when the cutoff values for portal vein diameter and spleen size were 12.25 mm and 13.9 cm respectively. Conclusions: Measurements of serum albumin, platelets count, portal vein diameter and spleen size by ultrasonography can be recommended as a non-invasive predictor for gastro-oesophageal varices in cirrhosis of liver. All these non-invasive parameters could be useful to patients with liver cirrhosis with portal hypertension in predicting presence of varices as well as in long-term clinical monitoring and management. Keywords: cirrhosis of liver; endoscopy; gastro-oesophageal varices; non-invasive predictors.

Background & Objectives:Acute upper gastrointestinal (UGI)  bleeding is a serious medical problem in patients with cirrhosis of  liver associated with high mortality. Gastro-oesophageal variceal bleed is the most common complication of portal hypertension in patient with liver cirrhosis. This study  was undertaken to establish the causes of UGI bleed in cirrhosis, their relative incidences, clinical presentation , endoscopic findings, outcomes during hospitalization including rebleeding and mortality were studied.Materials & Methods:One hundred and twenty patients with clinical features, sonological and endoscopic evidence of portal hypertension and cirrhosis of liver who presented with upper gastrointestinal bleed were included in the study. After haemodynamic stability, each patient underwent UGI endoscopy usually within 12 hours and the aetiology with diagnostic findings were documented. Results:Ruptured oesophageal varices was the  most common cause of UGI bleed in cirrhotic patients. Non variceal causes of UGI bleed accounted for 33.3 % of cases. The majority of non variceal bleed was peptic ulcer disease and accounted for 19.2 % of total UGI bleed in liver cirrhosis. This was followed by portal hypertension gastropathy, erosive gastropathy, mallory-weiss tear and others.Conclusion:The most frequent causes of acute gastrointestinal bleeding in cirrhosis was  oesophageal varices. Peptic ulcer disesase is also a common aetiology of UGI bleed in cirrhosis. Cirrhotic patients with variceal etiology have more chances of rebleeding and have higher mortality than those with non variceal aetiologies.

Background: Barrett’s esophagus a is metaplasia of normal squamous cells that line the lower part of the esophagus and carries a major risk for adenocarcinoma of esophagus. In Asian population, the prevalence of Barrett’s esophagus and adenocarcinoma are less common than in Western countries but has been increasing.Methods: This is a hospital based descriptive study comprising of 120 consecutive patients with symptoms of gastroesophagial reflux disease belonging to both sexes of any age group. The diagnosis of gastroesophagial reflux disease was based on the symptoms like heart burn and regurgitation. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was done in all the patients. Four quadrant biopsies were taken from the esophagogastric junction in suspected case of Barrett’s esophagus. The diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus was confirmed histopathologically.Results: There were 44.2% males and 55.8% females, age ranging from 22 to 85 years mean being 44.33+13.37. Of them, gastroesophagial reflux disease was mild in 54.16%, moderate in 21.16% and severe in 16.66%. Upper Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed non erosive gastroesophagial reflux disease in 50%, erosive in 45%, hiatal hernias in 5% and Barrett’s esophagus in 1.6%. Both patients with Barrett’s esophagus were elderly and had short segment (<3cm) involvement with no evidence of dysplasia or adenocarcinoma histopathologically.Conclusions: Endoscopic surveillance with detailed inspection and systematic biopsies is recommended for most patients with Barrett’s esophagus. Esophageal carcinoma if detected should be treated at the earliest.