The American College of Gastroenterology published updated guidelines on managing upper gastrointestinal and ulcer bleeding in the May 2021 issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
The updated guideline has 16 statements covering areas including risk stratification, red blood cell transfusion and pre-endoscopic medical therapy.
Some of the ACG's recommendations include:
- Using an infusion of erythromycin before endoscopy in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding
- Performing an endoscopy on patients admitted to or under observation for upper gastrointestinal bleeding within 24 hours of presentation
- Taking a restrictive policy of red blood cell transfusion for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding
- Giving endoscopic therapy in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to ulcers with active bleeding
- Patients with bleeding ulcers who failed endoscopic therapy be treated with transcatheter arterial embolization
Read the full guideline here.