Acute lower intestinal bleeding - Part II: Etiology, therapy, and outcomes

Upper GI bleeding has usually been accorded 'top billing' compared with lower intestinal bleeding, probably related to various factors including evidence that lower bleeding is only one fifth to one third as common as upper bleeding. Lower intestinal bleeding generally has a less severe clinical presentation and course and has other unique aspects in relation to etiology, diagnosis, and management (Table 4), which have been reviewed in this two-part series.