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Evaluation of the Guaiac-Positive Patient

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Gastrointestinal Bleeding

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Abstract

One of the more common encounters a physician must deal with is the presence of occult gastrointestinal blood loss. The prevalence may reach up to 1 in 20 adults. The detection of occult blood is important because a person may lose up to 150 ml of blood from the proximal gastrointestinal tract before producing overt melena [Schiff et al. Am J Med Sci 203:409, 1942]. Before proceeding further, an important distinction must be made between occult gastrointestinal blood loss and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Rebecca Burbridge M.D.

  2. Department of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Melissa Teitelman

Authors
  1. Rebecca Burbridge M.D.
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  2. Melissa Teitelman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Teitelman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    Aurora D. Pryor

  2. Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Theodore N. Pappas

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    M. Stanley Branch

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Burbridge, R., Teitelman, M. (2016). Evaluation of the Guaiac-Positive Patient. In: Pryor, A., Pappas, T., Branch, M. (eds) Gastrointestinal Bleeding. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40646-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40646-6_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40644-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40646-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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