Gastrointestinal bleeding

Alternative Names

Home Care

There are home stool tests for microscopic blood that may be recommended for people with anemia or for colon cancer screening.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call for an appointment with your doctor if:

• You have black, tarry stools (this may be a sign of upper GI bleeding)
• You have blood in your stool
• You vomit blood or you vomit material that looks like coffee grounds

GI bleeding can be an emergency condition requiring immediate medical attention. Intravenous fluids and medications, blood transfusions, drainage of the stomach contents through a nasogastric (NG) tube, and other measures may be required.

Once the condition is stable, a physical examination, including a detailed abdominal examination, will be performed.

Medical history questions to document GI bleeding in detail may include:

• When did it start?
• Is it off-and-on or does it continue?
• What did you notice?
• Were there black, tarry stools or was there obvious blood in the stools?
• Were you vomiting blood?
• Did you vomit material that looks like coffee grounds?
• Do you have a history of peptic ulcer or duodenal ulcer?
• Have you ever had symptoms like this before?
• What other symptoms do you have?
• Did you notice anything that you think may have caused the bleeding?

GI bleeding is diagnosed by a doctor -- you may or may not have been aware of its presence.

Diagnostic tests may include:

• CBC, clotting tests (PT, PTT, INR), platelet count, and other laboratory tests
• Abdominal x-ray
• Abdominal CT scan
• EGD
• Colonoscopy
• Sigmoidoscopy
• Small bowel enteroscopy
• Bleeding scan (tagged red blood cell scan)
• Angiography
• Abdominal MRI scan
• Capsule endoscopy (camera pill that is swallowed to look at the small intestine)