10/6- GI Hemorrhage Flashcards
What is “upper” GI bleeding?
- What percentage of GI bleeding cases does it account for?
Bleeding proximal to the ligament of Treitz
- 50% of admissions for GI bleeding
Etiology of upper GI bleeding?
- Peptic ulcer – 38%
- Varices – 16%
- Esophagitis – 13%
- Malignancy – 7%
- AVM – 6%
- Mallory-Weiss Tear – 4%
- Erosions – 4%
- Dieulafoy’s – 2%
- Unknown – 8%
What is this?
Esophageal cancer
What is this?
Mallory-Weiss tear (GE junction)
What is this?
NG tube trauma
What causes the majority of peptic ulcer disease?
- H. pylori infection
- NSAID use
What is the pathophysiology behind bleeding in cirrhosis?
Portal hypertension develops from:
- increased resistance to flow due to the architectural distortion of the liver along with
- intrahepatic vasoconstriction from decreased nitric oxide
Results in porto-systemic collaterals
- Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG)
- Normal 3-5mmHg
- Esophageal varices develop above 10-12mmHG
- Varices present in 50% of cirrhotics, presence correlates with severity of liver disease
- Varices appear at 8% per year, small become large at 8% per year
- Variceal hemorrhage 5-15% per year, risk associated with large varices, decompensated cirrhosis, and red wale signs
- Variceal bleeding = 20% mortality at 6 weeks
- Gastric varices in 5-33% of patients with portal hypertension, 25% bleeding risk in 2 years
What is portal hypertensive gastropathy?
Chronic slow blood loss/anemia
What is gastric antral vascular ectasia?
Anemia; does not respond to TIPS/b-blockers
What is this?
Snake skin appearance of portal hypertensive gastropathy
What is this?
“Watermelon stomach” of gastric antral vascular ectasia
What should be covered in the history for evaluating upper GI bleeding?
- Prior bleeding episodes, from what source?
- Alcohol use
- History of liver disease
- GERD
- Weight loss, N/V, family history malignancy
What medications may contribute to upper GI bleeding?
- Ulcers can develop within a week of starting aspirin/NSAIDs
Combination antiplatelets/anticoagulants
- Aspirin and clopidogrel
- Aspirin and warfarin
- Aspirin, clopidogrel, and warfarin
- Dabigatran, rivaroxaban
What should the physical exam cover in the evaluation of upper GI bleeding?
- Vital signs
- Tachycardia
- Orthostasis – at least 15% blood loss
- Supine hypotension – 40% blood loss
- Signs of chronic liver disease
- NG tube: possibly wash and see if blood comes back
- Stool examination
What are the benefits of Fecal Occult Blood testing?
- What is it not diagnostic for?
- Has been shown to reduce mortality from colorectal cancer
- Cancer detection test – recommended as an alternative to patients who decline a cancer prevention test (colonoscopy)
- No role in evaluation of a patient presenting with GI bleeding
What are the important lab results in evaluating upper GI bleeding?
- H/H - BUN (prerenal rise in BUN)
- PT/INR
- Evidence of chronic liver disease and/or portal hypertension (bilirubin, albumin, INR, platelets)
What four questions should you ask yourself in the clinical assessment of someone with upper GI bleeding?
Is this a GI bleed?
- Combo of history, lab values, and vital signs which come together to make a believable story
Is this an active bleed?
- Ongoing hematemesis or melena, continued hemodynamic instability, failure to respond to transfusion (taking into account resuscitation)
Where is the source?
Is the patient stable?
What signs point to the location of GI bleeding?
- Hematemesis/coffee ground emesis: upper GI source
- Melena: upper GI through proximal colon
- Hematochezia: brisk upper GI through rectal bleeding
- Negative NG lavage does NOT exclude an upper GI source
What are prognostic scores of upper GI bleeding: Rockall?
0-3
- Based on age, shock, comorbidity, diagnosis, major SRH…