Mgmt of Pts w/ Acute LGIB (2016) Flashcards

1
Q

Acute over lower GI bleeds account for what percentage of all GI bleed cases?

A

20%

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2
Q

What percentage of pts w/ presumed LGIB are ultimately found to have an upper GI source?

A

15%

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3
Q

define lower GI bleed

A

hematochezia originating from either the colon or rectum. rarely, bleeds from cecum/R colon can present w/ melena.

We no longer define LGIB as everything distal to ligament of Treitz (small intestine bleeding = middle GI bleeding)

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4
Q

4 goals of initial assessment

A

severity, location of bleed, etiology, resuscitation

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5
Q

useful hints in the history that would suggest:

  • colitis
  • malignancy
A

colitis - abdominal pain, diarrhea

malignancy - weight loss, altered bowel habits

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6
Q

risk factors for poor outcomes in LGIB?

A

hemodynamic instability, ongoing bleeding (gross blood on initial DRE, recurrent hematochezia), comorbidities, age >60 y/o, h/o diverticulosis or angioectasia, elevated Cr, hct <35%.

consider dispo to ICU

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7
Q

goals and method of initial hemodynamic resuscitation

A

IVF (crystalloid) to normalize BP and HR before endoscopy (strong rec; very low qual ev). Improvement in mortality, MI, and time in ICU was not statistically significant in this one study.

RBC to maintain Hgb >7 (consider goal >9 in pts w/ massive bleeding, significant comorbidities esp ACS, symptomatic peripheral vascular disease, or a possible delay in receiving therapeutic interventions (conditional rec; low-qual ev)

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8
Q

What specific comorbidities should you ask about?

A

prior GI bleeds, abdominal and/or vascular surgeries, PUD, IBD, abdominopelvic radiation.

Also in general ask about cardio, pulm, renal, adn hepatic diseases that may put pt at high risk of poor outcome and change management.

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9
Q

What meds (current, recent) should you ask about?

A

Meds that can affect bleeding risk - NSAIDs, antiplatelets, anticoagulants (even SSRIs’ effects w/ antiplatelets)

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10
Q

what BUN/Cr ratio suggests UGI source of bleed? What’s the positive LR?

A

> 30:1

LR 7.5

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11
Q

What’s the likelihood of UGI bleed if you find red blood and clots on DRE?

A

unlikely to be UGI source

LR 0.05

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12
Q

If UGI source is suspected, what’s the utility of a negative nasogastric aspirate?

A

not useful, since NPV is 64%

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13
Q

What INR window is safe for endoscopic hemostasis?

A

INR 1.5 - 2.5 before or concomitant w/ administration of reversal agents

Use reversal agents BEFORE endoscopy in pts w/ INR > 2.5 (conditional rec, very low qual ev)

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14
Q

When do you trigger platelet transfusions?

A

to maintain plt >50k in pts w/ severe bleeding and thos requiring endoscopic hemostasis (condition rec, very low qual ev)

Also give plt and plasma if pt receiving massive RBC transfusions

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15
Q

Define massive RBC transfusion

A

traditionally, >10 pRBC units in 24hr.

more recently, 3+ units w/n 1hr

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16
Q

what are the reversal agents for DOACs?

A

For dabigatran (Pradaxa; reversible thrombin inhibitor; watch out for concomitant use w/ dronederone and ketoconazole; half life 12-14hr), it’s idarucizumab (Praxbind; monoclonal Ab against dabigatran; neutralizes dabigatran w/n minutes, full hemostasis at 11hr). Uptodate also suggests oral activated charcoal if ingestion w/n 2hrs to remove pro-drug of dabigatran. may also remove w/ dialysis.

For direct factor Xa inhibitors (apixaban/eliquis, rivaroxaban/xarelto, edoxaban/savaysa, consider andexanet alfa, tranexamic acid, unactivated 4-factor PCC

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17
Q

what is the diagnostic yield of colonoscopy for lower GIB?

A

48-90%

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18
Q

what are the most common causes of acute severe LGIB?

A

diverticulosis, angioectasia, post-polypectomy bleeding, ischemic colitis

19
Q

What are less common causes of LGIB?

A

colorectal polyps/neoplasms, Dieulafoy’s lesions, IBD, anorectal conditions (rectal ulcer, radiation proctitis, rectal varices)

20
Q

Why is it important to intubate the TI?

A

to rule out proximal blood suggestive of small bowel lesion

21
Q

What is the recommended prep volume and timing of diagnostic colo for LGIB?

A

4-6L of PEG over 3-4hrs until rectal effluent is clear of blood and stool. Can do colo w/n 1-2hr of bowel prep completion

22
Q

what are possible complications of PEG prep?

A

rare, but aspiration pneumonia, fluid and electrolyte imbalances.

23
Q

What are the advantages of urgent colonoscopy for LGIB?

A

Urgent colo (w/n 12-24hrs) improves diagnostic and therapeutic yield, a/w shorter hospitalization.

Unclear if urgent colo improves rates of rebleeding or need for surgery

Takeaway:
perform colo w/n 24hr to improve diagnostic and therapeutic yield (conditional rec; low qual ev)

24
Q

what is the rate of adverse events w/ colonoscopic hemostasis for acute LGIB?

A

0.3-1.3%

25
Q

What are the endoscopic hemostasis options?

Which is better for LGIB?

A
  • clips
  • bands
  • epi
  • contact (heat, bipolar/multipolar electrocoag)
  • noncontact (argon plasma coag)

lack of studies on comparing hemostasis options in LGIB

26
Q

which LGIB etiologies are most amenable to endoscopic hemostasis?

A

diverticuli, angioectasia, and poly-polypectomy bleeding

27
Q

indications for endoscopic hemostasis for diverticulosis?

Theoretical best method and why.

A

Indications for hemostasis of diverticuli:

  • active bleeding
  • nonbleeding visible vessel
  • adherent clot that can’t be removed w/ vigorous washing and suctioning
Best method (theoretically):
clips. avoids the risk of transmural injury and perf that thermal therapies carry. 

can place clips directly over bleeding site or over entire diverticulum orifice (‘zipper’)

Caution:
if choosing to band, be careful for R-sided diverticulum since you can get serosal entrapment and inclusion of muscularis propia (L colon has thicker mucosal wall).

28
Q

what is endoscopic hemostasis indicated for angioectasias?

A

when there’s e/o acute or chronic blood loss

29
Q

best mode of hemostasis for angioectasias? why?

A

contact and noncontact thermal tx

noncontact (APC) is more common - easy to use, safe, efficiencient, improves Hgb levels and reduces blood transfusions

30
Q

APC settings for angioectasias?

A

20-60 W (lower power in R colon)

gas flow rate 1-2.5l/min

pulses of 0.5 - 2 sec

may lift larger (>10mm) angioectasias in R colon w/ submucosal saline injection before coagulation

31
Q

what are risk factors for post-polypectomy bleeding?

A

large poly (>2cm)
thick stalk
R colon location
resumption of antithrombotic tx

32
Q

preferred hemostasis method for post-polypectomy bleeds?

A

clips - limits additional tissue injury that happens w/ contact thermal coagulation tx

33
Q

which LGIB etiologies are generally not amenable to durable endoscopic hemostasis?

A

ischemic colitis
colitis from IBD
colorectal neoplasms

treat medically and/or surgically the underlying etiology

34
Q

Pros and cons of angiography

A

PROS:
- allows localization and tx (angiography) if brisk ongoing bleeding precludes hemodynamic stabilization and bowel prep

CONS:
- requires active bleeding to identify lesion- risk of bowel ischemia (1-4% in more recent series) after selective embolization

reserved for pts w/ very brisk ongoing bleeds

35
Q

best use of tagged RBC

A

since you can do repeated scans after the initial injection of tagged RBCs, you can evaluate intermittent, obscure-overt GI bleeding more effectively

unclear if it’s helpful in localizing a lesion before angiography

36
Q

Pros and cons of CT angiography

A

PROS:
almost 100% accurate at localizing bleed site

CONS:
less sensitive in identifying lesions compared to scintigraphy

CONCLUSION:
CT angiography still a reasonable first-line screen if needed before angiography or emergent surgery b/c it’s faster and more accurate than tagged RBC’s.

37
Q

what is the rate of rebleeding for LGIB?

which etiologies are most well known to cause rebleeding?

A

poorly characterized

for early rebleeding (bleed befiore hospital d/c): 22%

for late rebleeding: 16%

diverticular and angioectasia bleeds

38
Q

in which etiologies of LGIB especially should non-aspirin NSAID use be avoided?

A

LGIB’s from angioectasias and diverticuli (strong rec; low qual ev)

39
Q

What should you do about aspirin secondary ppx for pt w/ high-risk CV disease and presentation of LGIB?

A

continue use for secondary ppx. avoid for primary ppx if pt is not high risk for cardiovascular events since there’s only 0.07% absolute risk reduction per year (strong rec; low qual ev)

40
Q

For pts w/ dual antiplatelet therapy or monotherapy w/ a non-aspirin antiplatelet agent:

1 - when to resume antiplatelet therapy?

2 - any situation where you shouldn’t hold DAPT?

A

1 - asap and at least w/n 7 days based on multi-D assessment of CV and GI risk and adequacy of endoscopic therapy. ASA use shouldn’t be stopped.

2 - don’t stop DAPT if pt had ACS w/n the past 90 days or PCI w/n the past 30 days (strong rec; low qual ev)

41
Q

What is the difference in rate of rebleeding for endoscopic modalities vs conservative care for angioectasias?

A

no difference in rate of rebleeding for angioectasias (endoscopic modalities vs conservative care)

42
Q

what is the rate of rebleeding for angioectasias?

A

w/ conservative/placebo therapy, 37-45% at 1yr; 58-64% at 2yrs.

43
Q

in a study of aspirin, plavix, and PPI therapy following PCI, LGIB was more common than UGIB (74% vs 26% of bleeds).

Why might that be?

A

antiplatelet-associated rebleeds may be higher in LGIB than UGIB given lack of prophylactic measures including PPI, H pylori tx.