[The results and a discussion of the esophagogastroduodenoscopic studies performed successfully, early and postponed in patients with upper digestive tract hemorrhages in 1980-1990].

For a period of 10 years (1980-1990) a total of 2034 emergency, early and postponed endoscopies have been performed in patients with upper digestive tract bleeding at the Department of Emergency Surgery in Sofia. Duodenal ulcer has been the leading cause of bleeding--41.19 per cent of the cases, with gastric ulcer ranking second--14.94 per cent. There followed in descending rank order: gastric and duodenal erosions--12.34 per cent; gastric cancer--5.06 per cent; hemorrhagic gastritis--2.56 per cent; esophageal varices--7.27 per cent; Mallory-Weiss syndrome--1.62 per cent. Bleeding from the digestive tract of patients with CNS trauma based on acute stress ulcer and erosions and activated old callous ulcer occupied the 12th place in rank order. On the 13th place ranked upper digestive tract bleeding in patients who had undergone thermic trauma (2.01 per cent). Much fewer wer the cases of bleeding secondary to peptic ulcer of the jejunum, gastric and duodenal diverticulosis, acute ulcers in patients with cardiovascular diseases, blood diseases, liver, bile duct and pancreas diseases, aorto-duodenal fistulas and drug-induced diseases. The cause remained unknown in 1.77 per cent of the patients. On the basis of the indisputable achievements in [correction of ti] the diagnosis of acute upper digestive tract hemorrhage, the approach to these grave nosologic entities has essentially been altered.