Diagnosis and management of lower gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage

Journal Article · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985 · West. J. Med.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6170131

Smith, Jr, L H

The role of barium radiography and technetium scintigraphy in the diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage is described. Although the barium enema has been the standard diagnostic evaluation following proctoscopy in patients with hematochezia, it should never be used as an early diagnostic procedure in a patient who is vigorously bleeding. Insensitivity in these patients is also a problem in angiography and nuclear scans. Technetium scintigraphy is performed by labeling a patient's erythrocytes with /sup 99m/Tc pertechnetate after which the abdomen may be scanned for as long as 20 hours. In general, if patients are bleeding one unit every two to four hours, the scan is likely to be abnormal. In many centers, the technetium scan is required before doing angiography. 24 references, 5 figures, 5 tables.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, San Francisco
• OSTI ID: 6170131
• Journal Information: West. J. Med.; (United States), Journal Name: West. J. Med.; (United States) Vol. 143:1; ISSN WJMDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
550602 -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Diagnostics-- (1980-)
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOMEDICAL RADIOGRAPHY
BLOOD VESSELS
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ETIOLOGY
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
HEMORRHAGE
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTESTINES
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LARGE INTESTINE
MEDICINE
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PATIENTS
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOLOGY
SCINTISCANNING
SYMPTOMS
TECHNETIUM 99
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
THERAPY
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES