Abstract:

Objective: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GB) is an important emergency problem that can be seen at any age and every part of gastrointestinal system from mouth to anus. In this study, we aimed to investigate demographic, epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with GB who admitted to emergency department. Material and Method: The records of patients <18 years who admitted to pediatric emergency department with GB were reviewed retrospectively. The age, gender, complaints, drug history, laboratory findings, diagnoses, treatment modalities, endoscopy and colonoscopy findings were recorded. Results: 47 were found to be folllowed up with the diagnosis of GB in our department. 24 (51.1%) of these were upper and 23 (48.9%) lower GB. Hematemesis was detected in 40.4% (n:19), melena in 14.9% (n:7) and hematochezia in 44.7% (n:21) of them. Patients who applied with melena were mostly <5 years (n:4, 57.1%) which was statistically significant.  Twenty of the patients (42.6%) had drug usage history. 18 (90%) were found to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 6 of the 12 Helicobacter pylori positive (50%) patients were diagnosed as gastritis with statistical significance. 6 patients (50%) with positive Helicobacter pylori were found to have a statistically significant complaint of hematemesis. Conclusion: In this study, gastritis and peptic ulcer were the most common causes of GB. The assessment of GB according to risk factors, revealed that, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug usage and Helicobacter pylori infection were associated with mucosal lesions. Therefore, patients admitted to pediatric emergency departments should be evaluated carefully and informed about rational drug usage.

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