EurekAlert -- It is widely accepted that urgent endoscopy for UGIB should be performed within 24 hour from the admission. However, within this period of time, it is still unclear whether it should be performed either very early – i.e. within 2 hour – or in a more delayed interval, such as after 6, 12 or 24 hour. Therefore, optimal timing for urgent endoscopy in UGIB patients has not been yet established. A research article to be published on August 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Professor, Tammaro from “San Giovanni Addolorata” Hospital in Rome prospectively assessed whether a simplified clinical score prior to endoscopy in UGIB patients was able to predict either active bleeding or endoscopic signs of recent haemorrhage which may deserve an urgent (< 2 h) endoscopy.
