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Review
. 2017 Feb 28;23(8):1328-1337.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i8.1328.

Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding: Perspectives from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology

Claudio Romano  1 , Salvatore Oliva  1 , Stefano Martellossi  1 , Erasmo Miele  1 , Serena Arrigo  1 , Maria Giovanna Graziani  1 , Sabrina Cardile  1 , Federica Gaiani  1 , Gian Luigi de'Angelis  1 , Filippo Torroni  1
Affiliations
Review

Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding: Perspectives from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology

Claudio Romano et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

There are many causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in children, and this condition is not rare, having a reported incidence of 6.4%. Causes vary with age, but show considerable overlap; moreover, while many of the causes in the pediatric population are similar to those in adults, some lesions are unique to children. The diagnostic approach for pediatric GIB includes definition of the etiology, localization of the bleeding site and determination of the severity of bleeding; timely and accurate diagnosis is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality. To assist medical care providers in the evaluation and management of children with GIB, the "Gastro-Ped Bleed Team" of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) carried out a systematic search on MEDLINE via PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) to identify all articles published in English from January 1990 to 2016; the following key words were used to conduct the electronic search: "upper GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "lower GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "obscure GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "GIB" and "endoscopy" [all fields]; "GIB" and "therapy" [all fields]. The identified publications included articles describing randomized controlled trials, reviews, case reports, cohort studies, case-control studies and observational studies. References from the pertinent articles were also reviewed. This paper expresses a position statement of SIGENP that can have an immediate impact on clinical practice and for which sufficient evidence is not available in literature. The experts participating in this effort were selected according to their expertise and professional qualifications.

Keywords: Endoscopy; Gastrointestinal bleeding; Lower gastrointestinal bleeding; Pediatric; Upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The data presented, the statements made and the views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagnostic approach of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in infants and children. NG: Nasogastric; EGD: Upper endoscopy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagnostic approach of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in infants and children. UGIB: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding; GI: Gastrointestinal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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