Decreasing Trend of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Mortality Risk Over Three Decades

Background Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) causes over $1 billion in medical expenses annually. Aims The purpose of this study was to examine changes of UGIB mortality risks and trends over the last three decades. Methods We analyzed the National Hospital Discharge Sample from 1979 to 2009. Patients with primary ICD-9 code representing a diagnosis of UGIB were included. The UGIB mortality risks and trends in each decade by anatomical sites, bleeding causes, comorbidities, and other important variables were analyzed. Results UGIB mortality risk decreased by 35.4 % from 4.8 % in the first decade to 3.1 % in the third decade ( P