The treatment of non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding: An investigation in a Vietnamese hospital X.T. Ngo 1 , T.T.Q. Ngo 2 , D.T. Vo 3 , T.H.Q. Bui 1* 1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2 Department of Gastroenterology, Thong Nhat Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 1. INTRODUCTION Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a potentially life-threatening condition which can be defned as bleeding proximal to the ligament of Treitz. The annual incidence of UGIB ranges from 40 to 150 among *Corresponding author: huongquynhtn@gmail.com Original Article Pharm Sci Asia 2018; 45 (3), 184-194 DOI : 10.29090/psa.2018.03.184 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 30 September 2017 Received in revised form 5 February 2018 Accepted 20 February 2018 KEYWORDS: Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal (NVUGIB); Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs); Endoscopy therapy; Blood transfusion; Tranexamic acide. ABSTRACT Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) is a critical condition, which frequently leads to hospitalization or mortality. European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and Asia-Pacifc Working Group consensus on the Management of Patients with Non-variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding (ICON-UGIB) has provided comprehensive guidelines for diagnosis and management of NVUGIB. The aims of this study were to determine to rate of appropriate indications for treatment of patients with NVUGIB and whether the use of recommended resuscitative measures and drugs contribute to the improvement of patients. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using medical records of in-patients diagnosed with NVUGIB from 1st January 2016 and 30th Jun 2016 at Thong Nhat hospital, Vietnam. Patients’ clinical characteristics, endoscopic profles, and treatments were recorded. The Glasgow Blatchford score was evaluated without endoscopic fndings, whereas Forrest classifcation is based on endoscopic fndings of an ulcer. The rational treatment of NVUGIB was evaluated based on European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (2015) and Asia-Pacifc Working Group consensus on NVUGUB (2011). There were 98 patients of median age 59.9 years, and 33.7% of them had peptic ulcer disease. Most patients were male (65.3%). Appropriate indications of blood transfusion (OR 19.74, 95%CI 2.00 – 194.45, p=0.011), endoscopic hemostasis (OR 19.61, 95%CI 1.54 – 250.00, p=0.019), post-endoscopy PPI (OR 40.27, 95%CI 4.56 – 355.85, p=0.001), and acid tranexamic (OR 4.06, 95%CI 1.07 – 15.43, p=0.039) were associated with improvement of patient outcomes. Amelioration of NVUGIB patients depends on the rational indications of blood transfusion, endoscopic haemostasis, and PPIs. Optimization and personalization are essential to improve efectiveness and safety of the treatment.