Improved treatments for acid reflux disease, ulcers, arthritis and other conditions helped reduce hospital admission rates for internal bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract by 14 percent from 1998 to 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The upper gastrointestinal, or “G.I.” tract extends from the mouth to the duodenum, part of the small intestine. Bleeding in this area can be caused by ulcers, taking aspirin and other pain medicines, and alcoholism.

AHRQ’s analysis showed:

• The hospitalization rate for upper G.I. bleeding declined from 96 cases per 100,000 people in 1998 (259,299 total cases) to 82 cases per 100,000 people in 2006 (246,297 cases). Potential reasons for the decline include increased use of medications that reduce gastric acid such as proton pump inhibitors; antibiotic treatment of gastric ulcers caused by the H pylori bacteria; and increased use of the newer COX-2 inhibitor medicines for arthritis or other pain.

• In 2006, hospitalizations for upper G.I. bleeding covered a wide age range - 47 percent of admissions for patients 65 to 84; 25 percent for patients 45 to 64; 18 percent for patients older than 85; 10 percent for patients under 45.

• The number of hospital patients who died from upper G.I. bleeding fell from 20,013 in 1998 to 16,344 in 2006.

This AHRQ News and Numbers is based on Hospitalizations for Gastrointestinal Bleeding in 1998 and 2006 which also has findings for lower G.I. bleeding. The report uses statistics from the 2006 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays that is nationally representative of inpatient stays in all short-term, non-Federal hospitals. The data are drawn from hospitals that comprise 90 percent of all discharges in the United States and include all patients, regardless of insurance type, as well as the uninsured.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)