A study on endoscopic abnormality in drug induced UGI bleeding

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin are among the most frequently prescribed drugs worldwide and are available ‘Over-The-Counter' (OTC) also. Though reasonably safe in most cases in prescribed dosages and for short durations, these drugs cause serious gastrointestinal toxicity in a large number of cases. They can affect all segments of the gastrointestinal tract causing ulcers, severe bleeding, perforation, and obstruction. Aim: To study the endoscopic abnormalities in fifty cases of drug induced UGI bleeding. Materials and methods: Fifty patients (32 males and 18 females) admitted with drug-induced hematemesis and or malena were studied with respect to age group, number of bouts of hematemesis, approximate quantity of total blood loss, causative drug responsible for UGI bleeding, risk factors of GI bleeding, number of individual risk factors in each patients. Thorough clinical and laboratory investigations were done. UGI scopy was done for all patients. Results: NSAIDs were the commonest cause for UGI bleeding. Age > 50 years (66%) was the commonest risk factor for UGI bleeding. It was observed that ten patients were having normal endoscopic study, twenty five patients were having lesions in stomach only, ten patients were having lesions in duodenum only and five were having lesions in both stomach and duodenum. None of the patients studied, had lesions in the esophagus. It was found that ulcers were more common than erosions. Conclusion: Stomach is the commonest site affected (50%) and ulcers (64%) were common than erosion.