Synonyms for lower intestinal bleeding include lower gastrointestinal bleeding,
1
,
2
rectal bleeding,
3
,
4
,
5
visible rectal bleeding,
6
colonic bleeding,
7
,
8
and bloody diarrhea.
9
Lower intestinal bleeding has also been referred to by the color and character of
the bloody stool: bright red blood per rectum, maroon stool, blood and clots per rectum,
and hematochezia.
1
,
2
,
10
These descriptions and the designation “lower” become problematic when it is appreciated
that the passage of blood per rectum can originate from any level in the gastrointestinal
tract. A look at consecutive patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding from either
the upper or lower tract found that at least 80% of patients will pass blood, in some
form, from the rectum.
11
In fact, one study found upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) to be the source
in as many as 11% of patients given the designation hematochezia.
10
Thus, lower intestinal bleeding has the potential for a more diverse and complicated
differential diagnosis than UGIB.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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© 1998 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
