RISK FACTORS LINKED TO GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL HEMATOCRIT REDUCTION AND REQUIRING BLOOD PRODUCT TRANSFUSION

Abstract

Background: Haemorrhagic gastrointestinal bleed (GIB) remains one of the most threatening and Life-threatening emergencies with substantial morbidity and mortality. Acknowledging specific characteristics that predict serious GIB that requires a blood product transfusion is crucial to enhance the patient’s results and tailor the therapy strategy. Identifying the risk factors for worsening bleeding thus translates to an understanding of the early management factors associated with the demographic, clinical, and laboratory data

Aim: Thus, the purpose of this investigation is to examine respective risk factors of GIB which led to a significant decline of hematocrit levels and requiring transfusion of blood products for managing severe GIB in a clinical setting.

Method: The study design used in this paper was a retrospective cohort study, data from the patients’ records, charts, and cross-matched transfusion records were used. For patients, inclusion criteria comprised of patients diagnosed with GIB with need for blood product transfusion; patients with incomplete records or ill-defined bleeding source were excluded. Age, gender, comorbidities, initial hematocrit, bleeding severity scores, transfusion requirements, HS and clinical outcome of the patients were documented. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression to the significant risk factors were used on statistical models. Participants’ ethical approval was sought while patient anonymity was preserved throughout the given study.

Results: Patient characteristics that were noted in the study include variety of patients with all ages represented and a dominance of the male gender. Some of the features deemed to increase the risks included age, male gender, PU disease, liver cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, and coagulopathies. A significantly low value of initial hematocrit concentration was directly related to higher levels of RBC transfusion. Organizations found out that the bleeding severity scores were producing an accurate prediction of the blood product transfusion necessity. The parameters for clinical outcomes showed that patients with major comorbidity conditions received a larger number of transfusions and experienced a greater number of complications. The hypothesis of this study was to validate that initial hematocrit levels and bleeding severity scores positively correlate in patient transfusion requirements.

Conclusion: The study focuses on the essential aspects that define the risks of developing a severe GIB requiring transfusion of blood products. Prompt detection and intervention of these risk factors are essential in improving patients’ prognosis and minimizing the overall demands on health care systems. Thus, the study presents significant findings relevant to the advances of gastrointestinal care and transfusion medicine, underlining the importance of cost-effective risk assessment approaches and protective strategies. There is need for future studies to undertake more prospective studies to establish these findings as well as identify new bleeding risk biomarkers.