PREVALANCE OF ESOPHAGEAL VARICEAL BLEED IN RELATION TO AGE AND GENDER AMONG ALL THE UPPER GASTEROINTESTINAL BLEED CASES: A SINGLE CENTER STUDY

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is not uncommon. It is essential to establish early diagnosis and treat the cause. Esophageal variceal bleed may be an important cause of it. However, there exists great variability among various authors about the frequency of esophageal variceal bleed among such patients. This study was conducted to know the frequency of esophageal variceal bleed among patients with lower GI bleeding in our setup. Objective: To determine the frequency of esophageal variceal bleed in patients with upper GI bleeding presenting in a tertiary care hospital Study Design: Cross sectional survey Setting: The study was conducted in Medical Unit-II, Mayo Hospital, Lahore Duration Of Study: 6 months from approval of this study 01-10-2018 to 30-04-2019 Methodlogy: Two hundred patients with upper GI bleeding were included in the study. All the patients had upper GI endoscopy to determine the esopheal variceal bleeding which was documented as frequency distribution table. Results: Esophageal varices bleed was seen among 108 (54%) patients while it was not present among 92 (46%) patients. Conclusion: Esophageal variceal bleeding is frequently present among patients with upper GI bleeding and should be suspected in every patient with upper GI bleeding. Keywords: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding; esophageal variceal bleeding; upper GI endoscopy