Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding refers to bleeding anywhere along the GI tract from the mouth to the anus. GI bleeding can broadly be divided into an upper or lower GI bleeding depending on if it occurs proximal or distal to the ligament of Treitz, respectively. Differentiating between these two groups is important for directing evaluation and treatment of the source of bleeding. There are several potential radiologic studies that can be ordered when GI bleeding is suspected to aid in the detection and localization of the bleeding source, including CT angiography, 99mTc-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy (tagged RBC scan), and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). However, these are usually performed only after investigation with esophagoduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy—both of which can be diagnostic and therapeutic if a source is found. Once a bleeding source is identified, endovascular therapeutic interventions such as transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) can often be performed promptly and effectively with successful outcomes in the interventional radiology suite.
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Cieslak, J.A., Violari, E.G., Singh, C.K. (2018). Radiologic Diagnosis and Intervention for Gastrointestinal Bleeding. In: Singh, C. (eds) Gastrointestinal Interventional Radiology . Clinical Gastroenterology. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91316-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91316-2_9
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