OBJECTIVE: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a serious complication that sometimes occurs after percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy (PRG). We evaluated the incidence of bleeding complications after a PRG and its management including transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 574 patients who underwent PRG in our institution between 2000 and 2010. Eight patients (1.4%) had symptoms or signs of upper GI bleeding after PRG. RESULTS: The initial presentation was hematemesis (n = 3), melena (n = 2), hematochezia (n = 2) and bloody drainage through the gastrostomy tube (n = 1). The time interval between PRG placement and detection of bleeding ranged from immediately after to 3 days later (mean: 28 hours). The mean decrease in hemoglobin concentration was 3.69 g/dL (range, 0.9 to 6.8 g/dL). In three patients, bleeding was controlled by transfusion (n = 2) or compression of the gastrostomy site (n = 1). The remaining five patients underwent an angiography because bleeding could not be controlled by transfusion only. In one patient, the bleeding focus was not evident on angiography or endoscopy, and wedge resection including the tube insertion site was performed for hemostasis. The other four patients underwent prophylactic (n = 1) or therapeutic (n = 3) TAEs. In three patients, successful hemostasis was achieved by TAE, whereas the remaining one patient underwent exploration due to persistent bleeding despite TAE. CONCLUSION: We observed an incidence of upper GI bleeding complicating the PRG of 1.4%. TAE following conservative management appears to be safe and effective for hemostasis.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Embolization, Therapeutic/*methods ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*therapy ; *Gastrostomy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Hemorrhage/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Animals ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Gastric Mucosa ; pathology ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; etiology ; pathology ; therapy ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; complications ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Intestinal Mucosa ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; complications ; pathology ; Rats ; Stomach Diseases ; epidemiology ; etiology ; pathology ; therapy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In spite of the improvement of medical treatment for the peptic ulcer disease (PUD), PUD is still one of the common upper gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors and general characteristics of Korean patients diagnosed as PUD at a single third referral center. METHODS: A total of 310 patients, diagnosed as PUD through endoscopy during one year of 2007 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital were, retrospectively, evaluated regarding age, gender, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) positivity, clinical manifestations, comorbidities and medications. In addition, PUD was analyzed in the aspect of ulcer location, type of visit, gastrointestinal bleeding, and age. RESULTS: The mean age was 61.5 years old (48.1% over 65) and 208 (66.7%) patients were men. The rate of H. pylori infection was 47.8%, and any ulcerogenic medication history such as antiplatelet agents and NSAIDs was found to be 21.0% (65 patients). The rate of idiopathic peptic ulcer without evidence of H. pylori and NSAIDs was found to be 40.6% (126 patients). Among 310 PUD patients, bleeding symptoms such as melena, hematemesis and hematochezia occurred in 110 patients (35.5%). CONCLUSIONS: PUD was more prevalent in the elderly patients and frequently associated with bleeding. Substantial proportion of PUD patients had neither H. pylori infection nor history of ulcerogenic medications, suggesting of increasing prevalence of idiopathic PUD.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Gastroscopy ; Helicobacter Infections/complications/diagnosis ; Helicobacter pylori ; Hematemesis ; Humans ; Male ; Melena ; Middle Aged ; Peptic Ulcer/*diagnosis/drug therapy/epidemiology ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Prevalence ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Increased incidence of coronary artery disease has led to the increased use of dual antiplatelet therapy composed of aspirin and clopidogrel. We investigated the incidence of gastrointestinal complications in patients who received single or dual antiplatelet therapy and analyzed their clinical characteristics in order to predict the prognostic factors. METHODS: Between January 2009 and December 2011, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent coronary angiography at Chung-Ang University Hospital (Seoul, Korea). One hundred and ninety-four patients were classified into two groups: aspirin alone group and dual antiplatelet group. Clinical characteristics, past medical history, and presence of peptic ulcer were analyzed. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 11 patients had duodenal ulcer; the event rate was 2.02% in the aspirin alone group and 9.47% in the dual antiplatelet group (hazard ratio [HR] 5.24, 95% CI 1.03-26.55, p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of significant upper gastrointestinal bleeding: 0% vs. 4.2% (p=0.78). In patients who received proton pump inhibitor (PPI), 24 patients had gastric ulcer; the event rate was significantly different between the two groups: 4.87% vs. 22.98% (HR 3.40, 95% CI 1.02-11.27, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dual antiplatelet groups had a higher incidence of duodenal ulcers without significant bleeding compared with the aspirin alone group. In patients who received PPI, the dual antiplatelet therapy group had a higher incidence of gastric ulcers without significant bleeding compared with the aspirin alone group. Therefore, physicians must pay attention to high risk groups who receive dual antiplatelet therapy and aggressive diagnostic endoscopy should also be considered.
Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Aspirin/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease/*prevention & control ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/chemically induced/prevention & control ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peptic Ulcer/*diagnosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/*therapeutic use/toxicity ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Ticlopidine/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use/toxicity