| Glasgow-Blatchford score | |
| Purpose: | need for blood transfusion due to GI bleeding |
The Glasgow-Blatchford bleeding score (GBS) is a screening tool to assess the likelihood that a person with an acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) will need to have medical intervention such as a blood transfusion or endoscopic intervention.[1] The tool may be able to identify people who do not need to be admitted to hospital after a UGIB. Advantages of the GBS over the Rockall score, which assesses the risk of death in UGIB, include a lack of subjective variables such as the severity of systemic diseases and the lack of a need for oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) to complete the score, a feature unique to the GBS.
It was developed in 2000 by Oliver Blatchford (born 24 August 1954) at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
In a controlled study, 16% of people presenting with UGIB had a GBS score of "0", considered low. Among this group there were no deaths or interventions needed and people were able to be effectively treated in an outpatient setting.[2]
The score is calculated using the table below:
| Admission risk marker | Score component value |
|---|---|
| Blood urea (mmol/L)[3] | |
| 6.5–8.0 | 2 |
| 8.0–10.0 | 3 |
| 10.0–25 | 4 |
| > 25 | 6 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) for men | |
| 12.0–12.9 | 1 |
| 10.0–11.9 | 3 |
| < 10.0 | 6 |
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) for women | |
| 10.0–11.9 | 1 |
| < 10.0 | 6 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | |
| 100–109 | 1 |
| 90–99 | 2 |
| < 90 | 3 |
| Other markers | |
| Pulse ≥ 100/min | 1 |
| Melaena | 1 |
| Syncope | 2 |
| Hepatic disease | 2 |
| Cardiac failure | 2 |
In the validation group, scores of 6 or more were associatedwith a greater than 50% risk of needing an intervention.
Score is equal to "0" if the following are all present: