Interventional angiography in the diagnosis of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Interventional angiography with the use of indwelling arterial catheters, anticoagulants, vasodilators and fibrinolytic agents, complements conventional angiography in the diagnosis of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding. These interventional techniques prolong, augment or reactive bleeding and, by enabling better timing of examinations, they increase the diagnostic efficacy of angiography. In the reported series of 63 patients with acute lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage, interventions increased the diagnostic yield of angiography for demonstration of extravasation from 32% to 65% and decreased the percentage of negative angiograms from 27% to 16%. Indications, techniques and risks of interventional angiography in the diagnosis of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding are discussed.