Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage

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Abstract
SINCE the introduction of fiberoptic endoscopy early in the 1960s, considerable evidence has been accumulated that suggests that fiberoptic endoscopy is the most accurate diagnostic technique for localizing the source of upper gastrointestinal tract (UGI) hemorrhage.1,2Endoscopy has been noted to detect with high accuracy the presence of superficial mucosal disease, such as gastritis, varices, esophagitis, and Mallory-Weiss lesions, of the gastroesophageal junction.2The development of the flexible endoscope has sharply decreased morbidity and mortality caused by endoscopy. Nevertheless, noteworthy complications continue to be reported, including pharyngeal hematomas and lacerations, aspiration pneumonia, respiratory depression owing to intravenous administration of medication, and GI perforation and bleeding from endoscopic biopsies. The clinical impact of emergency endoscopy in bleeding patients has been the subject of much controversy, with little to suggest that the morbidity and mortality of GI hemorrhage have been appreciably reduced by the use of endoscopy.3,4 The radiological

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