Prognostic impact of acute-phase aspirin therapy in elderly patients with non-major upper gastrointestinal bleeding

XUE Zaiyao; WANG Haijun; REN Jiefeng; CHE Hebin; SI Quanjin

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1009-0126.2025.11.002

Abstract：Objective To investigate the impact of acute-phase aspirin management strategies on the prognosis of elderly patients with non-major upper gastrointestinal bleeding(UGIB),and to evaluate the role of stratification for patients with a history of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 526 elderly patients with upper UGIB were retrospectively enrolled from the Geriatric Disease Database of Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019,and another 380 UGIB patients from the MIMIC-Ⅳ database were included for external validation.All patients had received long-term low-dose aspirin treatment.Based on aspirin usage,patients were divided into a discontinuation group(no aspirin use within 10 d before admission or during hospitalization,n=476)and a continuation group(aspirin use maintained during hospitalization,n=50).Then according to whether there is a history of PCI,the cases are divided into 428 cases without a history of PCI and 98 cases with a history of PCI.The primary outcome was the 30-day composite adverse events(CAE).Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching analyses were employed.Results Compared with the discontinuation group,the continuation group had significantly higher proportions of PCI history,renal disease,myocardial infarction,and proton pump inhibitor use,but significantly lower rates of malignancy,platelet count,and estimated glomerular filtration rate(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).A history of PCI was a protective factor for in-hospital CAE.Aspirin use significantly increased the risk of CAE in patients without a PCI history(OR=5.34,95％CI:1.69～15.52,P＜0.01),whereas in patients with a PCI history,aspirin continuation did not increase the risk of adverse outcomes(OR=0.48,95％CI:0.00～11.88,P＞0.05).Consistent results were observed in the MIMIC-Ⅳ validation cohort.Conclusion In elderly patients with non-major UGIB,continuation or discontinuation of aspirin during the acute phase shows no significant difference in overall short-term prognosis.PCI history is a key stratifying factor:continued aspirin use may maintain cardiovascular protective benefits in high-risk post-PCI patients,whereas it may increase adverse risks in those without PCI history.