Diagnostic Tests for Gastrointestinal bleeding
Diagnostic Test list for Gastrointestinal bleeding:
The list of diagnostic tests
mentioned in various sources as
used in the diagnosis of Gastrointestinal bleeding
includes:
- Physical examination
- Look for evidence of anemia - e.g. pale skin and conjunctiva - may suggest chronic oesophagitis, chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer or stomach cancer.
- Look for signs of shock - e.g. elevated heart rate, low blood pressure.
- Abdominal examination for tenderness , masses, enlarged liver or spleen
- Examine for other evidence of chronic liver disease - e.g. jaundice, bruising, enlarged breasts in males, scratch marks, swollen abdomen.
- Digital rectal examination inspecting the color of the stool and for blood
- Blood tests
- Hemoglobin level will not be an accurate guide to blood loss during early stages
- Full blood count and ESR
- Iron studies
- Electrolytes and renal function tests
- Liver function tests looking for chronic liver disease
- Helicobacter pylori serology (to test for presence of bacteria that is now accepted to cause duodenal ulcers, but does not distinguish from past or present infection)
- Gastrin levels, if multiple peptic ulcers to help diagnose Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
- Tumor markers including Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (for bowel cancer and stomach cancer)
- Bleeding disorder screen if there is a personal history and/or family history of bleeding - e.g. Coagulation studies , platelet count, hemophilia testing, platelet aggregation and release studies.
- Stool tests
- Stool occult blood test
- Microscopy looking for ova, cysts, parasites of Hookworm
- Urea breath test - test of choice for following the response to treatment of Helicobacter pylori.
- Upper and lower endoscopy - looking for the source of the bleeding, biopsy to exclude cancer and inflammatory bowel disease; and to detect Helicobacter pylori (bacteria shown to increase risk of peptic ulcer disease).
- Radioactive scan following intravenous chromium or technetium-99 - may show the site of bleeding in obscure cases.
- Stool tests
- Occult blood test
- Gastroscopy
- Endoscopy
- Nasogastric tube
- Blood tests
- ECG
Home Diagnostic Testing
These home medical tests may be relevant to Gastrointestinal bleeding causes:
- Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
- Fatigue: Related Home Tests:
- Home Anemia Diagnostic Tests
- Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
- Digestive-Related Home Testing:
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Gastrointestinal bleeding:
The site of the bleeding must be located. A
complete history and physical examination are essential. Symptoms such as
changes in bowel habits, stool color (to black or red) and consistency,
and the presence of pain or tenderness may tell the doctor which area of
the GI tract is affected. Because the intake of iron or foods such as
beets can give the stool the same appearance as bleeding from the
digestive tract, a doctor must test the stool for blood before offering a
diagnosis. A blood count will indicate whether the patient is anemic and
also will give an idea of the extent of the bleeding and how chronic it
may be.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy is a common diagnostic technique that allows
direct viewing of the bleeding site. Because the endoscope can detect
lesions and confirm the presence or absence of bleeding, doctors often
choose this method to diagnose patients with acute bleeding. In many
cases, the doctor can use the endoscope to treat the cause of bleeding as
well.
The endoscope is a flexible instrument that can be inserted through the
mouth or rectum. The instrument allows the doctor to see into the
esophagus, stomach, duodenum (esophago-duodenoscopy), colon (colonoscopy),
and rectum (sigmoidoscopy); to collect small samples of tissue (biopsies);
to take photographs; and to stop the bleeding.
Small bowel endoscopy, or enteroscopy, is a new procedure using a long
endoscope. This endoscope may be introduced during surgery to localize a
source of bleeding in the small intestine.
Other Procedures
Several other methods are available to locate the
source of bleeding. Barium x-rays, in general, are less accurate than
endoscopy in locating bleeding sites. Some drawbacks of barium x-rays are
that they may interfere with other diagnostic techniques if used for
detecting acute bleeding; they expose the patient to x-rays; and they do
not offer the capabilities of biopsy or treatment.
Angiography is a technique that uses dye to highlight blood vessels.
This procedure is most useful in situations when the patient is acutely
bleeding such that dye leaks out of the blood vessel and identifies the
site of bleeding. In selected situations, angiography allows injection of
medicine into arteries that may stop the bleeding.
Radionuclide scanning is a noninvasive screening technique used for
locating sites of acute bleeding, especially in the lower GI tract. This
technique involves injection of small amounts of radioactive material.
Then, a special camera produces pictures of organs, allowing the doctor to
detect a bleeding site.
In addition, barium x-rays, angiography, and radionuclide scans can be
used to locate sources of chronic occult bleeding. These techniques are
especially useful when the small intestine is suspected as the site of
bleeding since the small intestine may not be seen easily with endoscopy. (Source: excerpt from Bleeding in the Digestive Tract: NIDDK)
Conditions listing medical symptoms: Gastrointestinal bleeding:
The following list of conditions
have 'Gastrointestinal bleeding' or similar
listed as a symptom in our database.
This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause
of any symptom.
Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which
include a symptom of Gastrointestinal bleeding or choose View All.
Conditions listing medical complications: Gastrointestinal bleeding:
The following list of medical conditions have 'Gastrointestinal bleeding'
or similar listed as a medical complication in our database.
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