Acute gastrointestinal bleeding: safety and timing of endoscopy

Abstract

Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common medical emergency that frequently results in hospitalization and is associated with a significant mortality rate. Currently, GI bleeding mortality is strongly influenced by increased age and age-related comorbidities. Some questions should be addressed in the management of patients presenting with acute GI bleeding: who should care for the bleeder? What is the optimal timing for endoscopy? Is it possible to stratify the patients according to a bleeding risk profile? In this paper we highlight all those topics by reviewing the most important studies published on this matter.

Keywords

• acute gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopy, timing