Emergency upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at the Emergency Department of Izzet Baysal Hospital: analysis of 263 patients.

To evaluate the epidemiological characteristics, etiology, and therapeutic outcome of gastrointestinal disorders in 269 patients who underwent emergency upper gastrointestinal (EUGI) endoscopy at the Emergency Department. Abdominal pain was the most common clinical indication, in 90 (33.5%) patients. The clinical reasons for emergency admission were significantly related to endoscopic diagnostic yield. Non-erosive gastritis was the most common diagnosis, in 76 (28.3%) of EUGIE patients. Erosive duodenitis and gastric ulcer were found to be the other most common clinical indications, in 69 (25.7%) and 31 (11.5%) of EUGIE patients, respectively. The majority of patients who presented with abdominal pain and loss of appetite were between the age of 41 and 60 years, while a significant number of patients presenting with the same symptoms did so during the winter season. Emergency endoscopy is a procedure of choice for the investigation of upper gastrointestinal complaints. Emergency endoscopy is not only a diagnostic tool but also a therapeutic modality.