The Glasgow Blatchford Score (GBS) is a pre-endoscopic risk assessment tool for patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (UGIH). It can predict need for intervention or death and identifies low risk patients suitable for out-patient management.
Blatchford Score for assessing the severity of UGIH
| Admission risk marker | Score | |
| Blood Urea mmol/L | >/=6.5 -7.9 8-9.9 10-24.9 >/=25 |
2 3 4 6 |
| Haemoglobin g/dL (men) | >/=12 -13 10-11.9 <10 |
1 3 6 |
| Haemoglobin g/dL (women) | >/=10-12 <10 |
1 6 |
| Systolic blood pressure mmHg |
100-109 90-99 <90 |
1 2 3 |
| Other markers | Pulse >/=100 Presentation with malaena Presentation with syncope Hepatic disease Cardiac failure |
1 1 2 2 2 |
A score of 0 identifies low-risk patients.
Low-risk criteria of GBS
- Urea <6·5 mmol/L
- Haemoglobin >/=13 g/dl (men) or >/=12 g/dl (women)
- Systolic blood pressure >/=110 mm Hg
- Pulse <100 beats per min
- Absence of melaena, syncope, cardiac failure, or liver disease
References:
- Stephens JR, Hare NC, Warshow U, Hamad N, Fellows HJ, Pritchard C, Thatcher P, Jackson L, Michell N, Murray IA, Hyder Hussaini S, Dalton HR. Management of minor upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage in the community using the Glasgow Blatchford Score. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009 Dec;21(12):1340-6. [Medline]
- Kowdley KV, Irani S. ACP Journal Club. The Glasgow-Blatchford Bleeding Score identified patients with upper GI bleeding who could be managed as outpatients. Ann Intern Med. 2009 May 19;150(10):JC5-14. [Medline]
- Blatchford O, Murray WR, Blatchford M. A risk score to predict need for treatment for upper-gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Lancet. 2000 Oct 14;356(9238):1318-21. [Medline]
Created Jul 14, 2011
