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Imaging of gastrointestinal bleeding

John D Mellinger1, James G Bittner, Michael A Edwards

  • 1Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University, 701 North First Street, Springfield, IL 62794, USA. jmellinger@siumed.edu

The Surgical Clinics of North America
|December 28, 2010
PubMed

Radiological techniques are important in evaluating patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Scintigraphic, computed tomographic angiographic, and enterographic techniques are sensitive tools in identifying the source of bleeding and may be useful in identifying patients likely to have a benign course and in selecting patients for therapeutic intervention. Angiography plays a key role in bleeding localization, and modern embolization techniques make this a viable therapeutic option. With the refining developments in body imaging and related reconstructive techniques, it is likely that radiological interventions will play an expanding and critical role in evaluating patients with gastrointestinal hemorrhage in the future.

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