Gastrointestinal hemorrhage: angiodiagnosis and angiotherapy.

Angiographic methods cannot and should not be applied to every patient with GI bleeding. Three out of four patients stop bleeding with conservative measures (bed rest, volume replacement, sedation, etc.). Major indications for angiography: patients who continue to bleed, despite conservative measures; when endoscopy is not available, is contraindicated, or inconclusive; when other diagnostic tests and/or laparotomy have failed to demonstrate the site and cause of bleeding. Angiography must be available at all times, and must be performed with expediency and with competence.