Risk factors for rebleeding after angiographically negative acute gastrointestinal bleeding

AIM: To identify possible predictive factors for rebleeding after angiographically negative findings in patients with acute non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding. METHODS: From January 2000 to July 2007, 128 patients with acute non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding had negative findings after initial angiography. Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among 128 patients, 62 had no recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding and 66 had recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding within 30 d. As determined by the use of multivariate analysis, an underlying malignancy, liver cirrhosis and hematemesis were significant factors related to recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. CONCLUSION: Clinical factors including underlying malignancy, liver cirrhosis, and hematemesis are important predictors for rebleeding after angiographically negative findings in patients with acute non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding. (C) 2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.