Research summary

Consensus Recommendations for the Use of Imaging in Evaluating GI Bleeding in Patients

Jessica Ganga

The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) have released consensus recommendations that focus on the role of imaging for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with the hope that it will improve patient outcomes and care.

GI bleeding is the most common GI diagnosis among patients in the United States, according to the authors, and may lead to hospitalizations. The authors saw a need for a clear set of recommendations for radiologic techniques (i.e. computed tomography angiography) as multiple management guidelines exist, which may lead to confusion on how each test can be used for the evaluation of a patient.


For their consensus, a group of experts from ACG and SAR reviewed the radiologic examinations used to evaluate multiple types of GI bleeding, which included nomenclature, technique, performance, advantages, and limitations.

The group of experts developed consensus recommendations for a range of topics including imaging in overt lower gastrointestinal bleeding, imaging in suspected small bowel bleeding, and imaging in nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

The key results of the recommendations are:

  1. The numerous guidelines for the management of GI bleeding, institutional variations in the nomenclature of available radiologic tests, and a limited understanding of the available technology may cause confusion for clinicians.
  2. There are multiple examinations available to evaluate GI bleeding, each with unique advantages and limitations which help guide utilization in various clinical scenarios.
  3. Radiologic examinations play a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of GI bleeding in patients.

“Consensus recommendations from the American College of Gastroenterology and the Society of Abdominal Radiology GI Bleeding Disease-Focused Panel will improve the understanding of specific examinations which are available for assessing gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and how these should be used,” the authors summarized.

 

Reference:
Sengupta N, Kastenberg D, Bruining D, et al. The role of imaging for gastrointestinal bleeding: consensus recommendations from the American College of Gastroenterology and Society of Abdominal Radiology. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024;119(3):438-449. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002631