Prevalence and risk factors for clinically significant upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with severe acute pancreatitis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS: Altogether 101 patients were admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology, Changhai Hospital, Second Medical Military Hospital from July 2006 to June 2010 due to SAP. Their prevalence and risk factors of UGIB were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 18 (17.8%) patients developed UGIB and 13 received endoscopic examination, which yielded six cases of acute gastric mucosal lesions (AGML), five of peptic ulcers (PU) and two of pancreatic necrotic tissue invading the duodenal bulb and presenting as multilesion, honeycomb-like ulcer. The mortality rate of UGIB patients was much higher than that of non-UGIB patients (44.4% vs 10.8%, P = 0.0021). Univariate analysis revealed that the risk factors for UGIB included the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, computed tomography severity index (CTSI), Ranson score, arterial blood pH and PaO2 , serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations, platelet count, shock, sepsis and organ failure, mechanical ventilation, heparinized continuous renal replacement therapy and total parenteral nutrition. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that APACHE II score and CTSI were significant risk factors while PaO2 was the protective factor for UGIB in SAP. CONCLUSIONS: UGIB is a common complication with poor prognosis due mainly to PU and AGML. Patients having SAP with high APACHE II scores and CTSI or low PaO2 should be considered to be at high risk for UGIB.