A total of 85 cases of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage admitted in Pusan National Uuiversity Hospital during the past 10 years was reviewed.
The results obtained were as follows:
1. The predominant diseases producing upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were gastric ulcer (37.5%), doudenal ulcer (23.6%), stomach cancer (20.0%), esophageal varix (8.2%), and gastritis, this order.
2. On the average, hematemesis was more frequent in gastric ulcer, gastritis and esophageal varix, whereas melena was frequent in duodenal ulcer and stomach cancer.
3. The Sex incidence of gastrointestinal hemorrhage revealed a greater prevalence in male, with a ratio of 3.3 male to 1 female.
4. The age incidence ranging from 18 to 76 years showed greatest predominance in the 4th (30.6%), 5th (28.2%), and 3rd (22.3%) decades, in this order.
5. Among the 85 cases, 63 cases were operated on and 22 cases were not operated on. The mortality rate for patients receiving surgical treatment was 15.9%, while the conservatives, mortality rate for those treated was 31.8%.
6. Among the 85 cases, 60 cases had massive bleeding and a mortality rate of 26.6%, 19 cases had moderate bleeding and a mortality rate of 5.2%, and 6 cases had mild bleeding without any mortality.
The overall mortality rate was 20%
7. The causes of death were mainly due to pulmonary complications (47.1%), and to shock (35.5%).
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