P-EGS18 The outcomes of upper gastrointestinal bleeds with unsuccessful endoscopy in a district hospital with no interventional radiology

Background Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common emergency estimated to occur in 80 to 150 out of 100,000 people each year. First line management is endoscopy and pharmacological but those who fail this can pose a challenge. Current NICE guidelines recommend repeat endoscopy to patients who re-bleed, those unstable consider interventional radiology (IR) or emergency surgery. The estimated mortality rate is approximately 10%. This study was conducted to review our current surgical outcomes and whether referral for IR is appropriate and could reduce mortality. Methods Retrospective study of 11 patients who underwent surgery for refractory non- variceal UGIB between November 2015 and March 2021 with a mean age of 61. Data was collected from the electronic records. Results All patients underwent an emergency laparotomy, 82% had an ASA of 4 the remainder ASA 3, a mean NELA mortality of 31.1% and a mean Blatchford 11.1. The initial OGD was performed on the day of admission in 54% of patients. 45% during initial OGD became hemodynamically unstable and transferred to theatre, one patient re-bleed 3 days after and taken to theatre the remainder (45%) re-bleed and had a 2nd OGD. 2 patients unstable during OGD went to theatre, 3 re-bleed within 24hrs 1 within 48hrs and taken to theatre. Mortality rate was 27%, complication rate 45%, mean LOS 24.6. Conclusions These findings highlight the high rate of morbidity and mortality associated with surgical treatment for UBIB. A small number of cases occurred over 7 years requiring surgical intervention,45% had two OGD’s and 9% went on to have a 3rd. Was there a window of opportunity to use IR if it were available. Recent studies have shown that transcatheter arterial embolization is safer than surgical intervention in the high risk patient population and has a lower 30-d mortality rate.