Blood transfusion strategies for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: are we back where we started?

Blood transfusion practices for acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage have changed over time. Restrictive strategies, which gave way to more liberal approaches for the greater part of the 20th century, have again gained traction as emerging research suggests restricting transfusion is associated with similar, or possibly better outcomes in UGI bleeding. In a large, retrospective cohort study from an integrated health care system in Taiwan, Chen, et al., report the association between early blood transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients presenting to the emergency department with UGI bleeding, and these findings are discussed in the context of current knowledge and practice.