The management of low-risk primary upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in the community: a 5-year observational study.

Background: Acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage is a common medical emergency, initially managed with inpatient care. Bleeding stops spontaneously in over 80% of cases, indicating that patients with low-risk upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage may be more optimally managed in the community, without the need for admission to hospital.

Aim: To assess the safety of managing patients with low-risk upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage without admission to hospital.

Host risk factors and autochthonous hepatitis E infection.

Introduction: In developed countries autochthonous hepatitis E infection is caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 or 4 and mainly affects middle aged/elderly men. Host factors might explain why older men develop clinically overt disease.

Methods: Retrospective review of 53 patients with symptomatic autochthonous hepatitis E infection to determine putative host risk factors.