GI Bleeding

Gastrointestinal bleeding is commonly referred to interventional radiology for consultation. Endoscopy is the key first step for upper GI bleeding for both diagnosis and therapy, but colonoscopy is less frequently utilized for acute lower GI bleeding. For lower GI bleeding, CT angiography is the preferred screening test to determine if bleeding is sufficient to warrant arteriography and embolization. Upper GI embolization can be done safely and effectively in the majority of cases with the main gastroduodenal or left gastric arteries being the most frequently targeted. Lower GI embolization involves super-selective embolization at the level of the vasa recta in order to avoid ischemia. When performed at that level, the rate of significant ischemia is less than 5%.