Risks related with withholding and resuming anticoagulation in patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding while on warfarin therapy

Summary Background: The use of warfarin is growing for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases. The risk of haemorrhagic side effects is increased in patients taking warfarin. Aims: To evaluate risks related with withholding and resuming anticoagulation in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) while on warfarin therapy and the role of the second‐look endoscopic examination (SEE). Methods: Records of 58 patients with native valvular heart diseases who presented with non‐variceal UGIB during chronic anticoagulation with warfarin were retrospectively reviewed. Age‐ and gender‐matched patients with non‐variceal UGIB during aspirin therapy because of ischaemic heart disease were recruited as the control group. Results: Development of both recurrent bleeding and thromboembolic events were more frequent in warfarin group than in control group (7.0% vs. 0% with p = 0.03 and 16.7% vs. 2.4% with p