Angiographic diagnosis and endovascular embolization for the senile gastrointestinal hemorrhage of unknown causes

Objective: To investigate the diagnosis and endovascular embolization for the senile gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage of unknown causes. Methods: 19 cases with GI hemorrhage of unknown causes underwent angiographlc examination with digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and 16 cases were showed to be positive. Of those positive cases, 14 were catheterized embolization. Results: There are 16 cases that showed localization or lesion of GI hemorrhage, and 14 of them underwent endovascular emboliza-tion, which soon stopped GI hemorrhage. After embolization, 6 cases received surgical treatment later. Conclusion: Arteriomalfor-mation and tumorous pathological changes are the main reasons for the senile GI hemorrhage of unknown causes. Selective catheteriz-ing angiography with DSA can not only show clearly the localization and lesion of GI hemorrhage, but enable endovascular embolization to be performed in time.