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Aetiology by frequency

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Most commonly an upper gastrointestinal bleed is a result of:

  • chronic peptic ulcer:
    • duodenal ulcer (40%)
    • gastric ulcer (20%)
  • acute peptic ulcer (30%)

Less commonly:

  • Mallory-Weiss syndrome
  • gastric erosions

Rarely, the following causes will be found:

  • oesophageal / gastric varices, e.g. in portal hypertension
  • erosive oesophagitis, e.g. due to a hiatus hernia
  • duodenitis
  • gastric carcinoma
  • bleeding diathesis
  • hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
  • pseudoxanthoma elasticum
  • Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
  • pseudohaematemesis
  • small bowel disease, e.g. a very rare tumour
  • pancreatitis
  • haemobilia, i.e. bleeding from the gall bladder or biliary tree

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