To Scope or Not to Scope? The Safety of Upper Endoscopy in the Setting of Pulmonary Embolism

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: 

We aimed to describe the frequency of upper endoscopy and associated outcomes in subjects hospitalized with upper GI bleeding (UGIB) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

METHODS: 

We performed a cross-sectional study using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2007 to 2014. The association between upper endoscopy and in-hospital mortality was evaluated using propensity score matching.

RESULTS: 

A total of 44,412 subjects had a coexistent PE and UGIB. 63.5% had an inpatient upper endoscopy with a lower likelihood of in-hospital death and a shorter length of stay.

CONCLUSIONS: 

A substantial proportion of inpatients with PE and UGIB undergo endoscopy with a relatively lowmortality rate.