Background/Aims: Acute upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding is a significant emergency situation with a mortality rate of 2% to 10%. Therefore, initial risk stratification is important for proper management. We aimed to evaluate the role of contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for risk stratification in patients with acute UGI bleeding in the emergency room (ER).Methods: This retrospective study included patients with UGI bleeding in the ER. Glasgow-Blatchford risk score-computed tomography (GBS-CT) was assessed using a combination of GBS and the MDCT scan scoring system.Results: Of the 297 patients with UGI bleeding, 124 (41.8%) underwent abdominal MDCT. Among them, 90.3% were classified as high-risk by GBS, and five patients died (4.0%). Rebleeding occurred in nine patients (7.3%). The high-risk GBS-CT group had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (10.5% in high-risk vs. 1.4% in moderate risk vs. 0% in low-risk, <i>p</i> = 0.049), transfusion amount (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and endoscopic hemostasis (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared to the moderate- and low-risk groups.Conclusions: Adding MDCT scans to the existing validated prognosis model when predicting the risk of UGI bleeding in patients in the ER plays a significant role in determining in-hospital mortality, transfusions, and the need for endoscopic hemostasis.
Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome is a highly fatal condition characterized by widespread thromboembolism subsequent to a triggering factor (e.g., infection, trauma, and neoplasia) in antiphospholipid antibody-positive patients. This paper reports a case of a 29-year-old male without the underlying disease who developed extensive mesenteric thromboembolism and jejunal necrosis during the treatment for acute enteritis. The patient's condition was improved with low-molecular-weight heparin and an intravenous Ig treatment with emergency surgery. The serum antiphospholipid (anticardiolipin IgM) and lupus anticoagulant antibody tests showed positive results. Acute infectious enterocolitis is generally considered a mild disease. On the other hand, aggressive evaluation and treatment should be considered if the clinical conditions do not improve and deteriorate rapidly despite appropriate antibiotic treatment because of the possibility of acute immunological complications, such as catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.