Upper GI bleeding in an urban hospital. Etiology, recurrence, and prognosis. Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) continues to be a common cause of hospital admission and morbidity and mortality. This study reviews 469 patients admitted to a surgical service of an urban hospital. There were 562 total admissions because 53 patients were readmitted 93 times (recurrence rate, 20%). The most common causes of bleeding, all endoscopically diagnosed, included acute gastric mucosal lesion (AGML) (135 patients, 24%), esophageal varices (EV) (121 patients, 22%), gastric ulcer (108 patients, 19%), duodenal ulcer (78 patients, 14%), Mallory-Weiss tear (61 patients, 11%), and esophagitis (15 patients, 3%). Nonoperative therapy was sufficient in 504 cases (89.5%). Endoscopic treatment was used in 144 cases. Operations were performed in 58 cases (10.5%), including 29% of ulcers. Emergency operations to control hemorrhage were required in only 2.5% of all cases. The rate of major surgical complications was 11% and the mortality rate was 5.2%. There were 58 deaths (12.6%), with 36 deaths directly attributable to UGIB. Factors correlating with death include shock at admission (systolic blood pressure less than 80), transfusion requirement of more than five units, and presence of EV (all p less than 0.001). Most cases of UGIB can be treated without operation, including endoscopic treatment, when diagnostic endoscopy establishes the source. Subsequent operation in selected patients can be done with low morbidity and mortality rates. 