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GI bleeding - series - Procedure, part 1

Procedure, part 1:

The first step in the treatment of GI bleeding is to locate the source of the bleeding. Patients who have lost significant amounts of blood are transfused with blood.

Often an endoscopy is the first step used to locate the source of the bleeding. During an endoscopy, the patient is usually sedated but awake.

Reviewed last on: 1/28/2009
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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