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Gastrointestinal bleeding

• Overview
• Treatment

Alternative Names:

Lower GI bleeding; GI bleeding; Upper GI bleeding

Home Care:

There are home stool tests for microscopic blood that may be recommended for people with anemia or for colon cancer screening.

Call your health care provider if:

• You have black, tarry stools (this may be a sign of upper GI bleeding).
• You have blood in your stool.
• You vomit blood or you vomit material that looks like coffee grounds.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

GI bleeding can be an emergency condition requiring immediate medical attention. Intravenous fluids and medications, blood transfusions, drainage of the stomach contents through a nasogastric (NG) tube, and other measures may be required.

Once the condition is stable, a physical examination, including a detailed abdominal examination, will be performed.

Medical history questions to document GI bleeding in detail may include:

• When did it start?
• Is it off-and-on or does it continue?
• What did you notice?
• Were there black, tarry stools or was there obvious blood in the stools?
• Were you vomiting blood?
• Did you vomit material that looks like coffee grounds?
• Do you have a history of peptic ulcer or duodenal ulcer?
• Have you ever had symptoms like this before?
• What other symptoms do you have?
• Did you notice anything that you think may have caused the bleeding?

GI bleeding is diagnosed by a doctor -- you may or may not have been aware of its presence.

Diagnostic tests may include:

• CBC , clotting tests (PT, PTT, INR), platelet count, and other laboratory tests
• Abdominal x-ray
• Abdominal CT scan
• EGD
• Colonoscopy
• Sigmoidoscopy
• Small bowel enteroscopy
• Bleeding scan (tagged red blood cell scan)
• Angiography
• Abdominal MRI scan
• Capsule endoscopy (camera pill that is swallowed to look at the small intestine)

• Review Date: 10/27/2005
• Reviewed By: Courtney W. Houchen, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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