Endovascular interventional treatment of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding after dual antiplatelet therapy: A case report

Abstract

Dual antiplatelet therapy is commonly used to treat or prevent thromboembolic events in patients with deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, atrial fibrillation, in patients after coronary artery stenting, cerebral artery stenting or artificial heart valves, etc. Although they significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality from thromboembolic events, dual antiplatelet therapy is associated with the risk of bleeding, which can be life-threatening. Gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the most common and dangerous events when using dual antiplatelet therapy for a long time. According to studies, nearly half of the major bleeding cases related to dual antiplatelet therapy arise from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We report the case of a 74-year-old female patient with lower gastrointestinal bleeding after using dual antiplatelet therapy that was successfully treated endovascularly with a coil.

Keywords

• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Dual antiplatelet therapy
• Interventional radiology