Skip to content
Epomedicine

Mnemonics, Simplified Concepts & Thoughts

Epomedicine

Mnemonics, Simplified Concepts & Thoughts

upper gi bleeding scores

Upper GI Bleed (UGI Bleed) Scoring : Mnemonics

Epomedicine, Nov 22, 2017Jul 28, 2023
upper gi bleeding scores

Blatchford Score

Blatchford score is recommended by NICE for 1st assessment.

Admission risk markerScore component value
Blood Urea (mg/dL)
18.2-22.42
22.4-283
28-704
>706
Haemoglobin (g/L) for men
12.0-12.91
10.0-11.93
10.06
Haemoglobin (g/L) for women
10.0-11.91
10.06
Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg)
100–1091
90–992
903
Other markers
Pulse ≥100 (per min)1
Presentation with melaena1
Presentation with syncope2
Hepatic disease2
Cardiac failure2
BUN (mg/dl) = Urea (mg/dl) / 2.14

Score is equal to “0” if the following are all present:

Mnemonic: A-B-C-D-E-F

  • Active patients with syncope or who have melena
  • BUN – elevation of ≥ 6.5 mg/dL
  • Circulation – systolic blood pressure of ≥ 110 mm Hg
  • Drop” in hemoglobin – for men and women, this is ≤ 12.9 g/dL and ≤ 11.9 g/dL, respectively
  • Elevated” – pulse rate ≥ 100 pulses/min
  • Failure – cardiovascular or liver disease

Score interpretation:

  1. 0: Low risk
  2. >0: High risk (medical intervention, transfusion, endoscopy or surgery)
  3. 8 or more: ICU admission

Clinical Rockall Score

1. Age (years):

  • <60: 0
  • 60-79: 1
  • ≥80: 2

2. Shock:

  • HR >100/min: 1
  • SBP <100 mmHg, Ischemic heart disease, Congestive heary failure, any major comorbidity: 2
  • Renal failure, Liver failure, Metastatic malignancy: 3

Score >0 is regarded as high risk.

Rockall Score

Rockall score must be assessed pre-endoscopy and post-endoscopy.

Clinical + Endoscopic findings

Mnemonic: ABCDE

VariableScore 0Score 1Score 2Score 3
Age<6060- 79>80 
BPNo shockPulse >100
BP >100 Systolic
SBP <100 
Co-morbidityNil major CHF, IHD, major morbidityRenal failure, liver failure, metastatic cancer
DiagnosisMallory-WeissAll other diagnosesGI malignancy 
Evidence of bleedingNone Blood, adherent clot, spurting vessel 

A score less than 3 carries good prognosis but total score more than 8 carries high risk of mortality.

Forrest Classification (Endoscopic)

Forrest ClassificationRebleeding IncidenceSurgical RequirementIncidence of Death
Type I: Active Bleed
Ia: Spurting Bleed
Ib: Oozing Bleed
55-100%35%11%
Type II: Recent Bleed
Ila: Non-Bleeding Visible Vessel (NBVV)
Ilb: Adherent Clot
40-50%34%11%
20-30%10%7%
Type III: Lesion without Bleeding
Flat Spot
Clean Base
10%6%3%
5%0.5%2%

Medications used in Upper GI Bleeding:

Omeprazole: 80 mg bolus of omeprazole intravenously, followed by 8 mg/hr for 3 days.

Octreotide: Octreotide therapy should be empirically administered in patients with GIB and significant liver disease, a history of variceal bleeding, a history of alcoholism, or highly abnormal liver function tests. The recommended dose of octreotide is a 50-μg bolus followed by 50 μg/hr intravenously.

Source: Rosen’s Emergency Medicine Concept and Clinical Practice – 8th edition

18 shares
  • Facebook18
  • Twitter
Emergency Medicine Emergency medicineGastrointestinal systemGeneral SurgeryInternal medicine

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Emergency Medicine sepsis-3 definitions

Understanding New Definition of Sepsis (Sepsis-3)

Jun 15, 2016

The Sepsis-2 definition used SIRS criteria and the term “Severe sepsis” which has been recently eliminated by the Sepsis-3. The new sepsis definitions recommend using a change in baseline of the total SOFA score of two or more points to represent organ dysfunction. New Definition of Sepsis and Septic Shock…

Read More
Emergency Medicine nstemi algorithm

NSTEMI : Early Medical Management Pearls

Jan 6, 2017Jan 7, 2017

Antiplatelet therapy Aspirin 2-4 non-enteric coated chewable baby aspirins (81 mg each) – buccal absorption is the fastest for platelet inhibition. Initial dose: 150 mg – 325 mg Daily dose: <150 mg For patients unable to take oral medications: Rectal suppository 325 mg Avoid in acute MI: Enteric coated preparations…

Read More
Emergency Medicine

Handtevy Method : Emergency Drug Dose by Age

Sep 11, 2021Sep 11, 2021

To obtain the correct weight for each age, assign each finger a chronological odd number starting with 1, representing the age in years. Now, using the same fingers, count in the multiples of 5, starting with 10 to obtain the corresponding ideal body weight in kilograms. For the even ages,…

Read More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Epomedicine. Upper GI Bleed (UGI Bleed) Scoring : Mnemonics [Internet]. Epomedicine; 2017 Nov 22 [cited 2025 Nov 25]. Available from: https://epomedicine.com/emergency-medicine/risk-stratification-upper-gi-bleeding/.

Pre-clinical (Basic Sciences)

Anatomy

Biochemistry

Community medicine (PSM)

Embryology

Microbiology

Pathology

Pharmacology

Physiology

Clinical Sciences

Anesthesia

Dermatology

Emergency medicine

Forensic

Internal medicine

Gynecology & Obstetrics

Oncology

Ophthalmology

Orthopedics

Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)

Pediatrics

Psychiatry

Radiology

Surgery

RSS Ask Epomedicine

  • What to study for Clinical examination in Orthopedics?
  • What is the mechanism of AVNRT?

Epomedicine weekly

  • About Epomedicine
  • Contact Us
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit Article
  • Editorial Board
  • USMLE
  • MRCS
  • Thesis
©2025 Epomedicine . All rights reserved.