Esophagitis Is a Major Cause of Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage in the Elderly

Abstract

Age > or = 80 years is an independent determinant of esophagitis, a major cause of UGI bleeding in the elderly.

Safety and long-term outcome of laparoscopic antireflux surgery in patients in their eighties and older

“…Thirteen percent were anemic, often due to bleeding Cameron's lesions. GERD accounts for a greater percentage of cases of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients over age 80 than in younger patients [21]. Although the mortality and morbidity of laparoscopic and open paraesophageal hernia repair are reported to be high, we had no mortality in this study [18].…”

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in octοgenarians: Clinical outcome and factors related to mortality

“…Variceal bleeding, which is characterized by high rebleeding rates and high mortality rate, is rare in this group. On the other hand, angiodysplasia and esophagitis, which were more frequent causes of bleeding in the very elderly, rarely produce life threatening bleeding and currently they are easily controlled endoscopically [24,25] . I n o u r s t u d y, e n d o s c o p y wa s p e r f o r m e d o n approximately 90% of patients over 80 years of age, endoscopic hemostasis was successfully applied to our patients without complications and the majority of rebleeding cases were treated with a second endoscopic hemostasis.…”

Esophagitis in Frail Elderly People

“…5 This scenario has been correlated with elderly patients' more blunted sensitivity and ability to report their symptoms, 6 and with functional changes, such as weaker peristalsis and acid reflux cleansing, more limited secretion of salivary bicarbonates, 7,8 and an increase in esophageal caliber. 9 The term ''presbyesophagus'' was coined to describe such functional changes 10 and several studies have also assessed the weight of concomitant factors-such as iatrogenic damage or prior surgery 11 -in determining the severity of esophageal damage in the elderly.…”