Angiography in the diagnosis and therapy of hemorrhage from the large bowel.

Angiography has added a new dimension to the management of hemorrhage from the large bowel. In patients with diverticular hemorrhage, mesenteric angiography not only localizes the bleeding site but, in addition, the bleeding can be acutely controlled with intraarterial infusion of vasopressin, making an emergency colectomy unnecessary. Similarly in patients bleeding from inflammatory bowel disease or in patients with post-operative hemorrhage, angiography provides information about the nature of the lesion and selective arterial infusions of vasopressin can control the bleeding. At times intestinal varices have angiographically been demonstrated as a potential source of rectal hemorrhage while in patients with unexplained lower gastrointestinal bleeding and repeatedly negative barium and endoscopic examinations, angiography has been valuable for the diagnosis of angiodysplasia of the colon.