BACKGROUNDAcute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) is a frequently encountered condition in the Gastroenterology field with a mortality rate of 10-14%. Despite recent newer innovations and advancements in endoscopic techniques and available medications, the mortality rate associated with AUGIB remained persistently elevated.AIMTo explore mortality, characteristics and outcome differences between hospitalized patients who develop AUGIB while in-hospital, and patients who initially present with AUGIB.METHODSThis is a retrospective of patients who presented to Northwell Health Staten Island University Hospital from October 2012 to October 2016 with AUGIB that was confirmed endoscopically. Patients were divided in two groups: Group 1 comprised patients who developed AUGIB during their hospital stay; group 2 consisted of patients who initially presented with AUGIB as their main complaint. Patient characteristics, time to endoscopy, endoscopy findings and interventions, and clinical outcomes were collected and compared between groups.RESULTSA total of 336 patients were included. Group 1 consisted of 139 patients and group 2 of 196 patients. Mortality was significantly higher in the 1st group compared to the 2nd (20% vs 3.1%, P ≤ 0.05). Increased length of stay (LOS) was noted in the 1st group (13 vs 6, P ≤ 0.05). LOS post-endoscopy, vasopressor use, number of packed red blood cell units and patients requiring fresh frozen plasma were higher in group 1. Inpatients were more likely to be on corticosteroids, antiplatelets and anticoagulants. Conversely, the mean time from bleeding to undergoing upper endoscopy was significantly lower in group 1 compared to group 2.CONCLUSIONIn-hospital AUGIB is associated with high mortality and morbidity despite a shorter time to endoscopy. Larger scale studies assessing the role of increased comorbidities and antithrombotic use in this setting are warranted.
AIM:To determine the incidence and the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viral infections in patients on hemodialysis (HD) across Lebanon.
METHODS:We reviewed the data registry at the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health where records of monthly hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology are reported from 60 affiliated HD centers across Lebanon. All patients who were on HD or who started HD between October 2010 and July 2012 were included in the study. Patients from seven HD centers were excluded due to inadequate and incomplete results reporting. During the selected
Retrospective Study
ORIGINAL ARTICLEperiod, HBsAg and HCV serology were available for 3769 patients from 53 HD centers distributed at all Lebanese governorates. The prevalence was calculated by dividing the number of patients with positive HBsAg or HCV serology to the total number of patients. The Incidence was calculated by dividing the number of newly acquired infection to number of patients-years (p-y). Incidence rates at different governorates were compared to each other using two tailed Z test and a P value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS:Sixty out of 3769 HD patients were found to have positive HBS Ag and 177 out of 3769 were positive for HCV Antibodies. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCV in HD patients across Lebanon was 1.6%, and 4.7%, respectively. The comparison of prevalence according to geographic distribution could not be done accurately due to the frequent shift of patients between dialysis centers at different governorates. The incidence rate was 0.27 per 100 p-y for HBV and 0.37 per 100 p-y for HCV. There was no significant difference concerning the incidence of HBV between HD centers at different governorates (all P values > 0.1), but this difference was highly significant concerning the incidence rates of HCV which occurred predominantly in the southern centers (1.47 per 100 p-y) with a P value of 0.00068 and 0.00374 when compared to Mount Lebanon (0.21 per 100 p-y) and the Northern centers (0.19 per 100 p-y), respectively.
CONCLUSION:The incidence rate of HBV and HCV is very low in the Lebanese HD centers and their prevalence is decreasing over the last two decades.
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