Characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding related to anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy: a retrospective study

AIM: To investigate the demographic characteristics, endoscopic and laboratory findings, comorbidities and mortality rate of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding related to anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. METHODS: We reviewed the records of patients admitted for gastrointestinal bleeding to the Intensive Care Unit of the Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Split, between 2015 and 2019. The characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients taking anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy were analyzed. RESULTS: The study enrolled 1367 patients, 434 (31.7%) of whom received anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy (mean age 74.9 ± 10.7 years; 64.3% men). The most frequently prescribed drug was acetylsalicylic acid (56.7%), the most common bleeding site was the stomach (41.3%), and the most prevalent cause of bleeding was ulcer (61.6%). Patients taking anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy who died had significantly higher creatinine (P = 0.011) and lower albumin (P = 0.015). In the multivariate analysis, the factors that negatively affected survival were older age, higher creatinine, and lower albumin. Patients taking anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy had slightly lower in-hospital mortality (8.3%) compared with other patients (10.3%). CONCLUSION: Although anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, it does not directly affect the outcome, which is mainly determined by age and comorbidities.