A review of endoscopic findings in upper gastrointestinal bleeding in Calabar, South-South Nigeria: A two-center study

Abstract

Objectives: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Nigeria. Endoscopy is vital for the diagnosis of UGIB. At present, there are no published data on UGIB in Cross River State, Nigeria. This study aims to report the endoscopic findings in our patients with UGIB in Calabar, Cross River State (CRS). Material and Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with UGIB who had esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) performed at two health facilities in Calabar, CRS, from November 2012 to May 2024. Patients’ demographics and endoscopic findings were obtained from the endoscopy registers into a spreadsheet and analyzed statistically (using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 software). Summary statistics (means ± standard deviation [SD]) for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages for categorical variables were analyzed. Categorical variables were compared for differences using the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 923 EGDs were performed during the study period. 151 (16.4%) of these cases had UGIB as an indication for the procedure. There were 105 males (69.5%) and 46 females (30.5%) with a mean age of 47.5 (SD ± 17.9) years. Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (gastritis and benign gastric ulcer – 68, 45%) was the main pathology found in patients, followed by bleeding esophageal varices (33, 21.9%). Conclusion: Endoscopy is important in the diagnosis of UGIB. PUD and bleeding esophageal varices are the leading causes of UGIB in our environment, respectively.