Control of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in the critical care unit

Abstract

Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, despite improvements in pharmacology and endoscopic, radiologic, and surgical techniques, remains a diagnostic, therapeutic, and economic challenge to the clinician. There remains 250,000 to 300,000 admissions yearly for gastrointestinal bleeding, and despite endoscopic techniques, which may predict prognosis and shorten hospital stay, the mortality is still 8% to 10% unchanged over the past 3 decades. In the critical care unit, gastrointestinal hemorrhage has an extraordinary mortality.