LOCALIZATION OF BLEEDING SMALL INTESTINAL LESIONS USING SCANNING TECHNIQUES

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 85  (4) , 372-376
Abstract
Gastrointestinal bleeding remains a major diagnostic problem, and the commonly employed techniques of contrast radiography, endoscopy and arteriography may not successfully localize the site and/or define the cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Tc-99m pertechnetate scanning was useful in identifying Meckel''s diverticula; modifications of this technique may successfully identify highly vascular lesions responsible for gastrointestinal bleeding. A patient with recurrent hemorrhage from a leiomyosarcoma of the ileum is described. The lesion was identified with flow studies and immediate static imaging after injection of Tc-99m pertechnetate. The lesion was also demonstrated by scanning using in vivo Tc-99m pertechnetate labelled autologous erythrocytes. The potential value of these scanning techniques as noninvasive tools for the localization and identification of lesions responsible for gastrointestinal bleeding is discussed.