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Gastrointestinal Bleeding pp 175–181Cite as

Evaluation of the Guaiac Positive Patient

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Abstract

One of the more common encounters a physician must deal with is the presence of occult gastrointestinal blood loss. The prevalence may reach up to 1 in 20 adults. The detection of occult blood is important because a person may lose up to 150 ml of blood from the proximal gastrointestinal tract before producing overt melena [1]. Before proceeding further, an important distinction must be made between occult gastrointestinal blood loss and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Rebecca Burbridge

  2. Department of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Melissa Teitelman

Authors
  1. Rebecca Burbridge
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  2. Melissa Teitelman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Teitelman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Center, Duke University, N. Duke St 3116, Durham , 27704, U.S.A.

    Aurora D. Pryor

  2. Medical Center, Duke University, N. Duke St 3116, Durham , 27704, U.S.A.

    Theodore N. Pappas

  3. Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, 27710, U.S.A.

    Malcolm Stanley Branch

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Burbridge, R., Teitelman, M. (2010). Evaluation of the Guaiac Positive Patient. In: Pryor, A., Pappas, T., Branch, M. (eds) Gastrointestinal Bleeding. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1693-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1693-8_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1692-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1693-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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