DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF SMALL BOWEL BLEEDING

Abstract

Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) accounts for approximately ５％ of cases of gastrointestinal bleeding and is frequently caused by a lesion in the small bowel. Due to advances in small bowel imaging with capsule endoscopy, balloon-assisted endoscopy and radiographic imaging, the cause of bleeding in the small bowel can be identified. Various causes of small bowel bleeding such as vascular lesions, ulcers and tumors have been found among patients with suspected small bowel bleeding. Endoscopic hemostatic intervention can be performed. Especially, vascular lesions such as angioectasia can be treated by endoscopic therapy using argon plasma coagulation or clipping. However, the rebleeding rate after hemostatic treatment of small bowel bleeding remains high. To improve important clinical outcomes such as the prevention of rebleeding, improvement of hemostatic treatment and intervention to reduce the risk factors for rebleeding may be required.