Management of Patients With Occult Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Abstract

The majority of cases of occult bleeding are found in the course of colorectal cancer screening or during the evaluation of iron deficiency anemia. In up to half of all patients with occult GI bleeding, the source will not be found on initial endoscopic evaluation. Occult gastrointestinal bleeding is an issue with difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. It may come to the clinic as asymptomatic, detected in routine screenings or as iron deficiency of unknown etiology. In recent years, there have been great advances in the diagnosis and treatment. Capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy have provided these advances. However, the problem is not fully resolved. Additional developments are needed in this regard. In this review, the management of patients with occult gastrointestinal bleeding is explained in the light of the latest literature findings. © 2021 Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi. All rights reserved.