Outcomes in Patients Admitted for Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding and COVID-19 Infection: A Study of Two Years of the Pandemic

Abstract

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) represents a major emergency, and patient management requires endoscopic assessment to ensure appropriate treatment. The impact of COVID-19 on patient mortality in UGIB may be related to the combination of respiratory failure and severe bleeding and indirectly to delayed admissions or a reduction in endoscopic procedures. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving patients admitted between March 2020 and December 2021 with UGIB and confirmed. Our objective was to compare these types of patients with those negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as with a pre-pandemic group of patients admitted between May 2018 and December 2019. Results: Thirty-nine patients (4.7%) with UGIB had an active COVID-19 infection. A higher mortality rate (58.97%) and a high risk of death (OR 9.04, p < 0.0001) were noted in the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly because of respiratory failure; endoscopy was not performed in half of the cases. Admissions for UGIB have decreased by 23.7% during the pandemic. Conclusions: COVID-19 infection in patients admitted for UGIB was associated with a higher mortality rate because of respiratory failure and possible delays in or contraindications of treatment.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• ulcer
• esophageal varices
• endoscopy