Clinical management

Obscure-Overt Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is identified as persistent or repeated bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract which could not be defined by conventional gastrointestinal endoscopy and radiological examinations. These GI bleedings are assessed through invasive diagnostic and treatment methods including enteroscopy, angiography and endoscopy. In addition, video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is a non-invasive method used to determine the location of the bleeding, however, this does not provide any treatment. Despite of these successful but invasive methods, an effective non-invasive treatment is desperately needed. Herein, we prepare non-invasive theranostic capsules to cure obscure GI bleeding. An effective theranostic capsule containing endothelin as the targeting agent, thrombin-fibrinogen or fibrin as the treating agent, and fluorescein dye as the diagnostic tool is suggested. These theranostic capsules can be administered orally in a simple and non-invasive manner without a risk of complication. By using these novel capsules, one can diagnose obscure GI bleeding with having a possibility of curing.

The small intestine has been difficult to examine by traditional endoscopic and radiologic techniques. Until the end of the last century, the small bowel follow through was the primary diagnostic tool for suspected small bowel disease. In recent years capsule endoscopy, deep enteroscopy using balloon-assisted or spiral techniques, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance enteroclysis or enterography have facilitated the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of patients with small bowel diseases. These technologies are complementary, each with its advantages and limitations. In the present article, we will discuss the different options and indications for modern diagnostic methods for visualization of the small bowel. We also try to provide a clinical rationale for the use of these different diagnostic options in less established, newly emerging, indications for small bowel evaluation.

La hemorragia digestiva (HD) supone un problema diagnóstico tanto en su forma de presentación aguda, que requiere una rápida localización del punto de sangrado, como en la crónica, que precisa de exploraciones repetidas para determinar su etiología. El diagnóstico y tratamiento se basa en estudios endoscópicos, aunque los estudios radiológicos mediante angiografía por tomografía computarizada (TC) en la hemorragia aguda y mediante TC enterografía en la crónica son cada día más utilizados en la práctica clínica, a pesar de no estar incluidos todavía en las guías clínicas de la HD. La TC puede ser una exploración diagnóstica de primera elección en la hemorragia aguda masiva, sustituyendo a la angiografía, y una exploración diagnóstica complementaria a la cápsula endoscópica y la gammagrafía en la hemorragia crónica o recurrente cuando se sospecha un origen en el intestino delgado. La angiografía es actualmente un método terapéutico complementario a la endoscopia en el manejo de esta afección.

Gastrointestinal bleeding represents a diagnostic challenge both in its acute presentation, which requires the point of bleeding to be located quickly, and in its chronic presentation, which requires repeated examinations to determine its etiology. Although the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding is based on endoscopic examinations, radiological studies like computed tomography (CT) angiography for acute bleeding or CT enterography for chronic bleeding are becoming more and more common in clinical practice, even though they have not yet been included in the clinical guidelines for gastrointestinal bleeding. CT can replace angiography as the diagnostic test of choice in acute massive gastrointestinal bleeding, and CT can complement the endoscopic capsule and scintigraphy in chronic or recurrent bleeding suspected to originate in the small bowel. Angiography is currently used to complement endoscopy for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding.