What are the symptoms and manifestations of upper gastrointestinal bleeding?
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding refers to hemorrhage originating from any site between the mouth and the ligament of Treitz. It ranges from trivial ooze noticed only on laboratory testing to catastrophic, life-threatening exsanguination. Rapid recognition of its varied presentations allows timely resuscitation and definitive hemostasis. Key visual clues• Hematemesis: vomiting fresh red blood or clots indicates active, usually arterial, bleeding; when gastric acid mixes with blood for minutes the appearance becomes “coffee-ground.”• Melena: black, tarry, foul-smelling stool that sticks to the toilet bowl; at least 50 mL of blood in the upper tract is needed to produce this change.• Nasogastric aspiration:... Learn more