Gastrointestinal bleeding or haemorrhage is a condition where blood enters the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, intestines). It can be a symptom of many different diseases, not only of the digestive system, but also of systemic diseases. Find out what causes this gastrointestinal bleeding.

Depending on the location of the sourcegastrointestinal bleedingdistinguish between:

  • bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract (the source of the bleeding is in the esophagus, stomach or duodenum),
  • bleeding from the lower digestive tract (blood comes from the small intestine, large intestine or anus).

Due to the intensity of the bleeding, it is distinguished by:

  • acute bleeding (single blood loss exceeds 500 ml),
  • chronic bleeding (daily blood loss is approx. 50 ml),
  • occult bleeding (detectable only by laboratory methods).

Gastrointestinal bleeding: symptoms

The most common symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding are vomiting and blood in the stools.

Vomiting can be:

  • coffee grounds (reminiscent of coffee grounds) occurring when blood was in the stomach for some time before vomiting and was subjected to gastric juice,
  • blood-red in color (more common in esophageal bleeding and in very massive gastric hemorrhages).

In the event of particularly intense haemorrhages, vomiting becomes light or dark red.

If there is blood in the stool - the degree of mixing of blood with the stool is the greater the higher the bleeding point is. For example, if the bleeding is from the end of the large intestine, the blood may streak your stools.

In turn, a symptom characteristic of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract are black (non-dark brown) tarry stools, which indicate that the blood contained in the stool was previously digested under the influence of gastric juice.

Other symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding are:

  • anemia
  • pale skin (with greater bleeding, the skin takes on a characteristic pale-gray color, it is cold, sweaty)
  • weakness
  • dizziness
  • spots in front of the eyes (characteristic of losing a large amount of blood).

Abdominal pain is a less common symptom, often even very massive hemorrhages are painless.

Massive gastrointestinal bleeding can lead to severe hemorrhagic shock, which is life-threatening.

Read also: Symptoms of an intestinal stiffness

Gastrointestinal bleeding: causes

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is most often caused by:

  • duodenal or stomach ulcer
  • diffuse hemorrhagic gastritis
  • esophageal varices
  • esophageal ulcer
  • esophageal cancer
  • stomach cancer
  • Mallory-Weiss syndrome (this is a rupture of the mucosa of the end esophagus as a result of profuse vomiting)
  • esophagus injury
  • portal gastropathy
  • thrombocytopenia
  • coagulopathy
  • watermelon stomach
  • aneurysm in the aorta, splenic or pancreatic duodenal artery

The causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding may be:

  • anal varicose veins
  • colonic diverticula
  • congenital abnormalities of the intestinal vessels, the so-called angiodysplasia
  • colon polyps
  • inflammatory bowel diseases, especially ulcerative colitis
  • use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or potassium supplements

People with bleeding disorders, alcoholics and patients with colorectal cancer are particularly vulnerable to the occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Important

In the case of diseases that may lead to gastrointestinal bleeding, such as peptic ulcer disease, prevention consists primarily in a proper lifestyle: avoiding alcohol and other stimulants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. With rebound varicose veins, it is worth avoiding constipation.

Read also: Boerhaave syndrome - spontaneous rupture of the esophagus. Symptoms

Gastrointestinal bleeding: treatment

Treatment of GI bleeding depends on the underlying cause in all cases. If bloody or ground-like vomiting or other symptoms of heavy bleeding occurs, the patient should be taken to hospital for emergency surgery as soon as possible. Sometimes it is necessary to have a blood transfusion.

In staunching bleeding, the following are used, inter alia, in methods such as injection, electrocoagulation, thermal probe, mechanical clips, tissue adhesives, laser therapy. Pharmacotherapy is also used, e.g.drugs that are designed to constrict the vessels that supply the organs of the digestive tract.

Category:

Gastrology