Transarterial angioembolization versus surgery after failed endoscopic therapy for non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Background and Objective. To compare the outcome of transarterial angioembolization (TAE) and surgery with endoscopically unmanageable non-variceal hemorrhage of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Materials and Methods. A case note review of all patients treated for non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding from January 2006 till January 2012 was performed. Results. Fifty-four of 667 patients with non-variceal bleeding did not respond to endoscopic treatment. Nine of the 54 patients had incomplete data, leaving 45 patients in the study; 24 had angiography and another 21 had surgery. The two groups were broadly similar in terms of relevant clinical variables. Nineteen of 24 having angiography had embolisation. Re-bleeding recurred in 8 patients (33%) in the TAE group and 6 patients (28.6%) in the surgery group (p = 0.28). There was no statistically significant difference in post procedural complications (81% vs 62.5%, p = 0.17), 30-day mortality (33% vs 29.1%, p = 0.17) units of blood transfused (12.24 vs 8.92, p = 0.177) and mean hospital stay (30.7 vs 22.9 days, p = 0.281) observed in patients undergoing surgery as compared to TAE. Conclusion. TAE and surgery have similar outcomes in patients with endoscopically unmanageable non-variceal upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage.