Glasgow-Blatchford Bleeding Score (GBS) Calculator

About the Glasgow-Blatchford Score

The Glasgow-Blatchford Score (GBS) is a risk stratification tool used to assess the likelihood that a patient with upper gastrointestinal bleeding will need medical intervention such as blood transfusion, endoscopic intervention, or surgery.

The score was developed by Blatchford et al. and published in 2000. It uses clinical and laboratory variables that are available at the time of presentation, making it particularly useful in the emergency department setting.

Clinical Use

The GBS is used to identify patients who are at low risk of requiring intervention or death. Patients with a score of 0 are considered low risk and may be suitable for outpatient management.

Patients with scores of 1 or greater are considered to be at higher risk and typically require hospital admission and consideration for endoscopy.

Score Interpretation

Limitations

• The GBS was derived to predict need for intervention, not mortality.
• It does not take into account the use of anticoagulants or antiplatelets.
• It does not distinguish between variceal and non-variceal bleeding.
• The score has not been extensively validated in all populations.

References

1. Blatchford O, Murray WR, Blatchford M. A risk score to predict need for treatment for upper-gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Lancet. 2000;356(9238):1318-1321.
2. Stanley AJ, Laine L, Dalton HR, et al. Comparison of risk scoring systems for patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding: international multicentre prospective study. BMJ. 2017;356:i6432.
3. Laursen SB, Oakland K, Laine L, et al. ABC score: a new risk score that accurately predicts mortality in acute upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding: an international multicentre study. Gut. 2021;70(4):707-716.