Acute gastrointestinal bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract

Bleeding from the GI tract is a commonly encountered clinical problem after percutaneous coronary intervention. The GI tract is likely to become the most commonly encountered site of bleeding as cardiologists adopt smaller access sheath sizes, percutaneous closure devices and a radial artery approach, further reducing access-site bleeding. To appropriately manage gastrointestinal bleeding in this setting, the clinician must strike a balance between arresting hemorrhage and preventing ischemic coronary complications. To do so, an appreciation of both cardiovascular and gastrointestinal issues is required. This review aims to provide the required knowledge, as well as a series of recommendations from our practice, to assist in the management of this potentially fatal complication.

Keywords::

• anticoagulants
• antiplatelets
• endoscopy
• gastrointestinal bleeding
• percutaneous coronary intervention
• proton pump inhibitors

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.