[Haemorrhage from the upper gastro-intestinal tract; rare causes (author's transl)]

839 patients with acute haemorrhage from the upper gastro-intestinal tract were treated in the last 14 years. In 72 cases the cause of bleeding was extremely rare. To find the correct diagnosis in acute situations the best is, to do emergency fiberoptic gastroscopy and in some special cases selective angiography. Without clear diagnosis the mortality rate in such cases will be too high.