Epidemiological, Clinical, Etiological and Evolutionary Profile of Patients Hospitalized for Upper Digestive Hemorrhage at the Sourô Sanou University Hospital Center in Bobo-Dioulasso

Abstract

Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, a potentially fatal medical and surgical emergency, is still frequent and polymorphic in our context. The objective of this work was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, etiological, and evolutionary profile of patients hospitalized for upper gastrointestinal bleeding at the Sourô Sanou University Hospital Center in Bobo-Dioulasso. Patients and Methods : This was a retrospective cohort study conducted from 01/01/2021 to 12/31/2023 in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Sourô Sanou University Hospital. It included patients hospitalized for upper gastrointestinal bleeding with a usable medical record. The study variables were sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic, and evolutionary. Quantitative variables were measured by their means or medians, accompanied by their standard deviations, and qualitative variables by their proportions. Results: During the study period, the frequency of upper gastrointestinal bleeding was 16.9% and the records of 291 patients were included. The median age was 50 years, and the sex ratio was 2.6. Informal sector workers accounted for more than half of the patients (51.6%). The most common mode of presentation was hematemesis in 82% of cases. The main etiologies found were peptic ulcer disease and ruptured esophageal varices in 54.3% and 24% of cases, respectively. Blood transfusion was required for 46.4% of patients, and treatment with proton pump inhibitors was necessary in 95.2% of cases. The overall case fatality from upper gastrointestinal bleeding was 20%. Conclusion: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding affects at least one in six patients hospitalized in Gastroenterology in our setting. Men in their fifties, working in the informal sector, are the most affected. Peptic ulcers are the most common cause, and mortality remains high. Communicating the harmful effects of self-medication would help change behaviors.