• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제55권4호
• /
• pp.391-398
• /
• 2017

Hookworm infections are widely prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in low income regions. In the body, hookworms parasitize the proximal small intestine, leading to chronic intestinal hemorrhage and iron deficiency anemia. Occasionally, hookworms can cause overt gastrointestinal bleeding, but this is often ignored in heavily burdened individuals from endemic infectious areas. A total of 424 patients with overt obscure gastrointestinal bleeding were diagnosed by numerous blood tests or stool examinations as well as esophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy or double-balloon enteroscopy. All of the patients lived in hookworm endemic areas and were not screened for hookworm infection using sensitive tests before the final diagnosis. The patients recovered after albendazole treatment, blood transfusion, and iron replacement, and none of the patients experienced recurrent bleeding in the follow-up. All the 31 patients were diagnosed with hookworm infections without other concomitant bleeding lesions, a rate of 7.3% (31/424). Seventeen out of 227 patients were diagnosed with hookworm infections in the capsule endoscopy (CE), and 14 out of 197 patients were diagnosed with hookworm infections in the double balloon enteroscopy (DBE). Hookworm infections can cause overt gastrointestinal bleeding and should be screened in patients with overt obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) in endemic infectious areas with sensitive methods. Specifically, the examination of stool specimens is clinically warranted for most patients, and the proper examination for stool eggs relies on staff's communication.

• 대한영상의학회지
• /
• 제84권3호
• /
• pp.520-535
• /
• 2023

위장관 출혈은 단일 질환이 아니라 광범위한 위장 질환의 증상 및 임상적 발현이다. 임상적 양상에 따라 명백한 출혈, 잠재 출혈, 원인 불명 출혈로 나눌 수 있으며, 출혈 위치에 따라 Treiz 인대를 기준으로 상부 또는 하부 위장관 출혈로 분류할 수 있다. 혈관 질환, 용종, 종양, 크론병, 이소성 췌장 및 이소성 위조직 등 다양한 질환이 위장관 출혈을 일으킬 수 있다. 명백한 출혈을 위한 영상 검사기법은 CT 혈관조영술, 고식적 혈관조영술 및 핵의학적 검사 등이 사용된다. 잠재 위장관 출혈을 평가하기 위한 영상검사로는 CT 소장조영술이 주로 사용되며, 위장관을 적절히 팽창해서 영상을 획득해야 위음성 혹은 위양성을 최소화하여 진단능을 높일 수 있다. CT 소장조영술에서 진단이 확실하지 않은 경우, Meckel scan이 보완적으로 사용될 수 있다. 원인 불명 위장관 출혈에 대한 검사는 임상 양상과 임상의 혹은 영상의학과 의사의 선호도에 따라 다양한 검사가 시행될 수 있으며, 이에 대한 추가적인 연구가 필요하다.

• Clinical Endoscopy
• /
• 제56권3호
• /
• pp.283-289
• /
• 2023

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is one of the most common conditions among patients visiting emergency departments in Korea. GI bleeding is divided into upper and lower GI bleeding, according to the bleeding site. GI bleeding is also divided into overt and occult GI bleeding based on bleeding characteristics. In addition, obscure GI bleeding refers to recurrent or persistent GI bleeding from a source that cannot be identified after esophagogastroduodenoscopy or colonoscopy. The small intestine is the largest part of the alimentary tract. It extends from the pylorus to the cecum. The small intestine is difficult to access owing to its long length. Moreover, it is not fixed to the abdominal cavity. When hemorrhage occurs in the small intestine, the source cannot be found in many cases because of the characteristics of the small intestine. In practice, small-intestinal bleeding accounts for most of the obscure GI bleeding. Therefore, in this review, we introduce and describe systemic approaches and examination methods, including video capsule endoscopy and balloon enteroscopy, that can be performed in patients with suspected small bowel bleeding in clinical practice.