Association between ABO blood groups and mortality in upper gastrointestinal bleeding

OBJECTIVE: Gastrointestinal bleeding is an important part of gastrointestinal emergencies. This study aimed to examine the association between ABO blood groups and mortality in patients who were admitted to the emergency department and diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. METHODS: The patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital in Turkey and the data of healthy blood donors were studied. The data of these patients were analyzed, and it was determined that the primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The study was completed with 274 patients and 274 control group. The mean age of these patients was 65.1±18.2 years, and 64.2% of patients were males. It was found that the in-hospital mortality rate of patients with O blood group (16.2%) was statistically significantly higher than non-O blood group (7.5%) (p:0.032). CONCLUSION: The study concluded that the mortality rate of gastrointestinal bleeding patients with O blood group was higher compared to patients with other blood groups. Physicians can use ABO blood groups to predict mortality risk in gastrointestinal bleeding.