Hemodynamically Unstable Patients with Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Gastrointestinal bleeding is a common problem encountered in the emergency department and in the primary care setting. In cases of hemodynamically unstable patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding, rapid clinical evaluation and accurate diagnosis are crucial. After adequate resuscitation and hemodynamic stabilization, full upper endoscopy and colonoscopy are effective in distinguishing the cause of the bleeding and treating it with hemostasis. In cases of suspicious small bowel bleeding, angiography, deep enteroscopy, or intraoperative endoscopy should be considered. This review summarizes the overall diagnostic approach to gastrointestinal bleeding with hemodynamically unstable patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding.