Prevalence and Outcome of Outpatient Therapy in UGIB

Although patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding can be successfully treated as outpatients, care must be used in selecting candidates.

Outpatient management of selected patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) has been proposed to decrease resource use and healthcare expenditure, but the bleeding-related mortality rate in this group is considerable. Several small studies have compared outcomes in UGIB patients managed with inpatient and outpatient care, but most were limited to participants at a single center (Gastrointest Endosc 2002; 55:1). To obtain national-level data, investigators evaluated the population prevalence and outcome of outpatient therapy in a cohort of 9123 UGIB patients selected from the 2004 Medicare claims database.

Outpatient therapy was provided to 3506 (38.4%) of these patients (mean age, 78). The 30-day mortality rate was det…

Reviewing Author

David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose