Occult and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding: Causes and diagnostic approach in 2009

Severe obscure gastrointestinal bleeding from Meckel's diverticulum with predominant ectopic pancreatic tissue

Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding represents about 5% of all gastrointestinal haemorrhages which is characterized by continuous or recurrent bleeding from an undetermined source after an initial bidirectional endoscopy. Meckel's diverticulum is a rare but recognized cause of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. A carefully selected line of investigations is paramount to localize the causative lesion in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding which is a challenge in subacute cases. We present a case of 35-year-old female with thalassemia minor and mild anaemia presented with acute gastrointestinal bleeding from the ectopic pancreatic mucosa of an Meckel's diverticulum where only a small focus of gastric tissue was identified histologically during the follow-up. This case discusses the rarity of this histological presentation of Meckel's diverticulum as obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and the importance of intraoperative decision-making and intraoperative enteroscopy in cases of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding when other tests are negative.

Causes of gastrointestinal bleeding in children based on endoscopic evaluation at a tertiary care center in Bahrain

BACKGROUND

Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a serious health problem worldwide, particularly during childhood. This can be an alarming sign of an underlying disease. Gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a safe method for the diagnosis and treatment of GIB in most cases.

AIM

To determine the incidence, clinical presentation, and outcomes of GIB in children in Bahrain over the last two decades.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort review of the medical records of children with GIB who underwent endoscopic procedures in the Pediatric Department at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, between 1995 and 2022. Demographic data, clinical presentation, endoscopic findings, and clinical outcomes were recorded. GIB was classified into upper (UGIB) and lower (LGIB) GIB according to the site of bleeding. These were compared with respect to patients’ sex, age, and nationality using the Fisher’s exact, Pearson’s χ², or the Mann-Whitney U tests.

RESULTS

A total of 250 patients were included in this study. The median incidence was 2.6/100000 per year (interquartile range, 1.4-3.7) with a significantly increasing trend over the last two decades (P < 0.0001). Most patients were males (n = 144, 57.6%). The median age at diagnosis was 9 years (5–11). Ninety-eight (39.2%) patients required upper GIE alone, 41 (16.4%) required colonoscopy alone, and 111 (44.4%) required both. LGIB was more frequent (n = 151, 60.4%) than UGIB (n = 119, 47.6%). There were no significant differences in sex (P = 0.710), age (P = 0.185), or nationality (P = 0.525) between the two groups. Abnormal endoscopic findings were detected in 226 (90.4%) patients. The common cause of LGIB was inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (n = 77, 30.8%). The common cause of UGIB was gastritis (n = 70, 28%). IBD and undetermined cause for bleeding were higher in the 10–18 years group (P = 0.026 and P = 0.017, respectively). Intestinal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia, foreign body ingestion, and esophageal varices were more common in the 0–4 years group (P = 0.034, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.029, respectively). Ten (4%) patients underwent one or more therapeutic interventions. The median follow-up period was two years (0.5-3). No mortality was reported in this study.

CONCLUSION

GIB in children is an alarming condition, whose significance is increasing. LGIB, commonly due to IBD, was more common than UGIB, commonly due to gastritis.

Acute Abdominal Pain: Missed Diagnoses, Extra-Abdominal Conditions, and Outcomes

Abdominal pain (AP) is a common reason for presentation to an emergency department (ED). With this prospective, observational all-comer study, we aimed to answer three questions: Which diagnoses are most often missed? What is the incidence of extra-abdominal causes? What is the prognosis of abdominal pain in a tertiary urban European ED? Participants were systematically interviewed for the presence of 35 predefined symptoms. For all patients with abdominal pain, the index visit diagnoses were recorded. Related representation was defined as any representation, investigation, or surgery related to the index visit (open time frame). If a diagnosis changed between index visit and representation, it was classified as missed diagnosis. Among 3960 screened presentations, 480 (12.1%) were due to AP. Among 63 (13.1%) related representations, the most prevalent causes were cholelithiasis, gastroenteritis, and urinary retention. A missed diagnosis was attributed to 27 (5.6%) presentations. Extra-abdominal causes were identified in 162 (43%) presentations. Thirty-day mortality was comparable to that of all other ED patients (2.2% vs. 2.1%). Patients with abdominal pain had a low risk of representation, and the majority of representations due to missed diagnoses were of benign origin. The high incidence of extra-abdominal causes is noteworthy, as this may induce change to differential diagnosis of abdominal pain.

Jejunoileal GIST: A Rare Case of Transient Intussusception and Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) comprised 0,2% of all GI tumors. They are typically asymptomatic, but can manifest with nonspecific GI symptoms, GI bleeding, or intussusception. The authors report a case of a 55-year-old female patient with hematochezia and a palpable mass on the left lower quadrant. Ultrasound revealed possible intussusception. However, CT scan did not show any signs of lesions or intussusception. On reevaluation, the mass was no longer palpable. The patient had recurrent episodes of hematochezia with need of transfusional support. CT enterography revealed a 20-24 mm jejunoileal lesion. A laparotomy was undertaken with small bowel resection containing the lesion. Histological examination confirmed GIST. GIST presentation as transient intussusception and intermittent GI bleeding is rare. This case report emphasizes the rarity of jejunoileal GIST, its clinical details, diagnostic study, and treatment.

Association of aortic valve disease with intestinal angioectasia: data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample

OBJECTIVE

Since the description of a correlation between aortic stenosis and angioectasia, controversy has persisted about whether these diseases are truly associated or coincidental findings of older age. Our objective was to determine the association of aortic valve disease and bleeding intestinal angioectasia from a large database.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We used the 2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to identify hospitalizations in the USA in patients with bleeding intestinal angioectasia. International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification codes were used to identify patients with aortic valve disease, mitral valve disease, and known risk factors for angioectasia (including diagnosed von Willebrand disease, left ventricular assist device, and chronic kidney disease). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the odds of association between the valvular diseases and angioectasia.

RESULTS

A total of 32 079 intestinal angioectasia-related hospitalizations were identified of which 7.02% (n=2253) cases had coexistent aortic valve disease. The unadjusted odds of aortic valve disease in association with bleeding intestinal angioectasia versus those without bleeding angioectasia was 4.95 [95% confidence interval: (CI): 4.43-5.54, P<0.001]. The association of intestinal angioectasia with mitral valve disease was not significant (odds ratio=1.56, 95% CI: 0.59-4.14, P=0.38). When adjusted for age and known risk factors, the odds of aortic valve disease in bleeding intestinal angioectasia was still significant (odds ratio=2.37, 95% CI: 2.10-2.66, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our findings support an important association between aortic valve disease and bleeding intestinal angioectasia, not identified in valvular heart valvular diseases with lower shear stress (mitral valve disease).

Overview of small bowel angioectasias: clinical presentation and treatment options

Elderly patients with multiple co-morbidities are at an increased risk of developing small bowel angioectasias. Treating these lesions can be both challenging and costly with patients requiring extensive investigations and recurrent admissions for iron infusions and blood transfusions as well as invasive procedures. This review presents treatment options and describes in detail drugs that should be considered whilst taking into account their effectiveness and their safety profile. Areas covered: A PubMed search was carried out using the following keywords: small bowel angiodysplasias, small bowel angioectasias, small bowel bleeding and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding to assess existing evidence. The pathophysiology and risk factors are covered in this review together with appropriate methods of investigation and management. Treatment options discussed are endoscopic measures, surgical options and pharmacotherapy. The role of serum biomarkers is also discussed. Expert commentary: Future work should be directed at alternative drugs with a good safety profile that target biomarkers. Novel pharmacotherapy directed at biomarkers could potentially provide a non-invasive treatment option for angioectasias particularly in the elderly where management can be challenging.

The Approach to Occult Gastrointestinal Bleed

Occult gastrointestinal bleeding is not visible and may present with a positive fecal occult blood test or iron deficiency anemia. Obscure bleeding can be overt or occult, with no source identified despite an appropriate diagnostic workup. A stepwise approach to this evaluation after negative upper and lower endoscopy has been shown to be cost effective. This includes repeat endoscopies if warranted, followed by video capsule endoscopy (VCE) if no obstruction is present. If the VCE is positive then specific endoscopic intervention may be possible. If negative, patients may undergo either repeat testing or watchful waiting with iron supplements.

Saturated saline flotation method for diagnosis of hookworm disease: Implications for diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding

AIM: To investigate the value of saturated saline flotation method for diagnosis of hook-worm disease in the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

METHODS: Twenty-three patients who were diagnosed with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and with hookworm disease by repeated endoscopy from January 2010 to December 2013 at the Meishan City People's Hospital were included in the study. Saturated saline flotation method was performed to detect the stool three consecutive times with an interval of more than one day, and the patient's clinical data were collected.

RESULTS: In the first time, 13 (56.5%) patients were found positive for hookworm eggs; 19 (82.6%) patients were positive in the first two times; and a total of 21 (91.3%) patients were positive in the three times.

CONCLUSION: Using saturated saline flotation method to detect parasite eggs especially hookworm eggs has an appreciated value in the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

Is it possible to predict the presence of intestinal angioectasias?

Background and Aim. Angioectasias are the most common vascular anomalies found in the gastrointestinal tract. In small bowel (SB), they can cause obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) and in this setting, small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is an important diagnostic tool. This study aimed to identify predictive factors for the presence of SB angioectasias, detected by SBCE. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the results of 284 consecutive SBCE procedures between April 2006 and December 2012, whose indication was OGIB, of which 47 cases with SB angioectasias and 53 controls without vascular lesions were selected to enter the study. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Results. The mean age of subjects with angioectasias (70.9 ± 14.7) was significantly higher than in controls (53.1 ± 18.6; P < 0.001). The presence of SB angioectasias was significantly higher when the indication for the exam was overt OGIB versus occult OGIB (13/19 versus 34/81, P = 0.044). Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were significantly associated with the presence of SB angioectasias (38/62 versus 9/38, P < 0.001 and 28/47 versus 19/53, P = 0.027, resp.). Other studied factors were not associated with small bowel angioectasias. Conclusions. In patients with OGIB, overt bleeding, older age, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension are predictive of the presence of SB angioectasias detected by SBCE, which may be used to increase the diagnostic yield of the SBCE procedure and to reduce the proportion of nondiagnostic examinations.

Detection of active bleeding from gastric antral vascular ectasia by capsule endoscopy

Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) has been recognized as one of the important causes of occult and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. The diagnosis is typically made based on the characteristic endoscopic features, including longitudinal row of flat, reddish stripes radiating from the pylorus into the antrum that resemble the stripes on a watermelon. These appearances, however, can easily be misinterpreted as moderate to severe gastritis. Although it is believed that capsule endoscopy (CE) is not helpful for the study of the stomach with its large lumen, GAVE can be more likely to be detected at CE rather than conventional endoscopy. CE can be regarded as “physiologic” endoscopy, without the need for gastric inflation and subsequent compression of the vasculature. The blood flow of the ecstatic vessels may be diminished in an inflated stomach. Therefore, GAVE may be prominent in CE. We herein describe a case of active bleeding from GAVE detected by CE and would like to emphasize a possibility that CE can improve diagnostic yields for GAVE.

Promoting advance planning for health care and research among older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Background

Family members are often required to act as substitute decision-makers when health care or research participation decisions must be made for an incapacitated relative. Yet most families are unable to accurately predict older adult preferences regarding future health care and willingness to engage in research studies. Discussion and documentation of preferences could improve proxies' abilities to decide for their loved ones. This trial assesses the efficacy of an advance planning intervention in improving the accuracy of substitute decision-making and increasing the frequency of documented preferences for health care and research. It also investigates the financial impact on the healthcare system of improving substitute decision-making.

Methods/Design

Dyads (n = 240) comprising an older adult and his/her self-selected proxy are randomly allocated to the experimental or control group, after stratification for type of designated proxy and self-report of prior documentation of healthcare preferences. At baseline, clinical and research vignettes are used to elicit older adult preferences and assess the ability of their proxy to predict those preferences. Responses are elicited under four health states, ranging from the subject's current health state to severe dementia. For each state, we estimated the public costs of the healthcare services that would typically be provided to a patient under these scenarios. Experimental dyads are visited at home, twice, by a specially trained facilitator who communicates the dyad-specific results of the concordance assessment, helps older adults convey their wishes to their proxies, and offers assistance in completing a guide entitled My Preferences that we designed specifically for that purpose. In between these meetings, experimental dyads attend a group information session about My Preferences. Control dyads attend three monthly workshops aimed at promoting healthy behaviors. Concordance assessments are repeated at the end of the intervention and 6 months later to assess improvement in predictive accuracy and cost savings, if any. Copies of completed guides are made at the time of these assessments.

Discussion

This study will determine whether the tested intervention guides proxies in making decisions that concur with those of older adults, motivates the latter to record their wishes in writing, and yields savings for the healthcare system.

Trial Registration

ISRCTN89993391

Sixty-four multi-detector computerised tomography in the detection of lower gastrointestinal bleeding: A prospective study

INTRODUCTION

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding (AGIB) is a serious and life-threatening condition. Many diagnostic procedures and tests are being used to detect the site of bleeding with different success rates. The aim of our study is to prospectively evaluate accuracy of 64-slice multi-detector computerised tomography (MDCT) in the diagnosis of lower AGIB.

METHODS

Between September 2007 and January 2009, patients with presumed lower AGIB were referred to the radiology department of our institution for 64-slice MDCT examination as part of the investigation for the lower AGIB. Any abnormalities to account for bleeding, such as tumours, bowel wall enhancement and increased intraluminal density, were recorded.

RESULTS

Out of 139 patients with AGIB that were admitted to our casualty department, 27 patients (19 men and 8 women) in the age range of 24-88 years (mean age, 56 years) were suspected to have lower AGIB. Sixty-four-slice MDCT was performed and considered positive for bleeding in 19 (70%) cases, and in all the cases, the bleeding source was indentified in the arterial phase, showing a focal dense wall enhancement in 8 (42%) cases, circumferential wall enhancement in 4 (22%) cases and progressive increasing intraluminal density in 7 (36%) cases. The venous phase scan showed increased dispersion of the contrast within the lumen as an additional clue for active extravasation in 15 (79%) out of the 19 cases. Delayed 5-min scanning showed the same findings as venous phase in all the 19 positive cases and failed to depict any additional findings in the eight cases that were negative on arterial or venous phases.

CONCLUSION

The study supports the high accuracy of 64-slice MDCT in locating the site of AGIB in patients thought to have a distal source of bleeding. Its accuracy in clinically proximal bleeding is not clear from this study, but MDCT is capable of showing such sources.