Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding

Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding often presents a challenging clinical situation. Although bleeding can be severe and associated with significant haemodynamic compromise, cessation is usually spontaneous. The causes are numerous, and the bleeding source can be difficult to identify, even with sophisticated diagnostic methods. Colonoscopy, CT angiography, mesenteric angiography and capsule enteroscopy offer a choice of diagnostic tools. Intervention is occasionally required; the options include therapeutic colonoscopy, super-selective embolization and surgical resection.