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Despite declines in the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) from peptic ulcers as well as advances in endoscopic and pharmacologic therapies, the mortality rate associated with peptic ulcer bleeding (5%–10%) remains unchanged. This discrepancy might be explained by prior studies that have shown that factors unrelated to the ulcer are associated with mortality in patients with UGIB.
To further determine causes of death in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding, investigators evaluated prospective data about patients with confirmed UGIB admitted to a large hospital in Hong Kong between 1993 and 2005. Of 9375 patients, 577 (6.2%) died from any cause within 30 days of their bleeding episodes. Independent reviewers determined that on…