Abstracts from Around the World

A wealth of data now suggests that patients with upper GI bleeding (UGIB) at low risk for poor outcome may be managed in an outpatient setting; however, such a strategy has not been universally adopted. This prospective study from the UK evaluated the Glasgow-Blatchford bleeding score which uses simple clinical and laboratory variables to predict outcome. Of 676 patients who presented with UGIB, 105 (16%) had a 0 score suggesting a good outcome. This scoring system fared well compared to the Rockall score. Subsequent validation in clinical practice of an additional cohort showed 22% of admissions were low risk and 68% of these were managed as an outpatient without adverse events.