%0 Journal Article %T The clinical significance of upper gastrointestinal bleeding etiology score in determining variceal bleeding %A Farhan Ali %A Adnan Bashir Bhatti %A Siddique Akbar Satti %A Tariq Mehmood Satti %J Open Journal of Gastroenterology %P 45-49 %@ 2163-9469 %D 2014 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/ojgas.2014.41008 %X BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common, and potentially life threatening condition, which can be divided into variceal and non-variceal sources of bleeding. OBJECTIVE: To examine the validity of the upper gastrointestinal bleeding etiology score compared to the current gold standard, the emergency Esophagogastroduodenos-copy (EGD), for determining the etiology of UGIB. METHODOLOGY: 101 patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding presented in the emergency department of Capital Hospital, Islamabad between February 2010 and March 2012 were in- cluded in this cross-sectional study. The upper gastrointestinal bleeding score was computed for each case by accounting for the clinical parameters of previous diagnosis of cirrhosis or signs of chronic liver disease ¡Á 3.1, presence of red vomitus ¡Á 1.5, and red N/G aspirate ¡Á 1.2. Each parameter was given a score of 1 if present, and 0 if absent, with a total score ¡Ý3.1 favoring variceal bleed, and a score of <3.1 indicating non-variceal bleeding as a cause of UGIB. Esophago-gastroduodenoscopy was performed within 72 hours of presentation. RESULTS: The mean ¡À SD age of the patients was 50.2 ¡À 14.1 years ranging from 18 to 80 years. Out of 101 patients, 56% were males while the remaining 44% were females. The sensitivity of the UGIB score was 78.2% and the specificity was 84.3%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 91.5% and negative predictive value (NPV) was 64.2%. The overall diagnostic accuracy of UGIB score in determining variceal bleeding was found to be 80.2%. CONCLUSION: Variceal bleeding is a common cause of UGIB in Pakistan. UGIB etiology score is a highly sensitive and specific clinical tool in determining the etiology of UGIB as either variceal or non-variceal bleeding. %K Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding %K Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Etiology Score %K Variceal Bleeding %K Non-Variceal Bleeding %K Endoscopy %U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=42399