Acute gastrointestinal bleeding

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding is responsible for 1% to 2% of all hospital admissions in the United States annually. An awareness of common and uncommon pathologies will allow the clinician to develop a plan for the diagnostic evaluation that will lead to a diagnosis and localization of the bleeding site. Successful diagnosis and subsequent treatment are dependent on selecting the diagnostic tests that pinpoint the bleeding source accurately and in the most cost-effective manner.