gastrointestinal bleeding
digestive disorders
Gastrointestinal Bleeding
There are two goals to treating people with GI bleeding: Replace lost blood with fluid given by vein (intravenously) and sometimes with a blood transfusion. Stop any ongoing bleeding. Hematemesis, hematochezia, or melena should be considered an emergency. People with severe GI bleeding should be admitted to an Types of units (ICU) or other closely monitored setting and should be seen by a gastroenterologist and a surgeon. People with sudden, severe blood loss require intravenous fluids and sometimes an emergency Overview of Blood Transfusion to stabilize their condition. People with blood clotting abnormalities may require transfusion of Most GI bleeding stops without treatment. Sometimes, however, it does not. The type and location of bleeding tell the doctors what treatment to use. For example, doctors can often stop peptic ulcer bleeding during endoscopy by using a device that uses an electrical current to produce heat (electrocautery), heater probes, or injections of certain agents. If endoscopy does not stop the bleeding, surgery may be needed. Esophageal Varices None . If these methods do not work or are impossible, doctors do Testing during which they may pass a catheter into the bleeding vessel and then inject a chemical, fragments of a gelatin sponge, or a wire coil to block the blood vessel and thereby stop the bleeding (embolization) or give intravenous Polyps can be removed by a wire snare or electrocautery. Doctors may give people with upper GI bleeding a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) by vein (intravenously) to help control the bleeding. Internal hemorrhoid bleeding stops spontaneously in most cases. For people whose bleeding does not stop without treatment, doctors do anoscopy and may place rubber bands around the hemorrhoids or inject them with substances that stop bleeding or do electrocautery or surgery (see Treatment ). 