Hemostatic effect of endoscopic local injection with hypertonic saline-epinephrine solution and pure ethanol for digestive tract bleeding.

An uncontrolled study for the assessment of the hemostatic effects of endoscopically injected hypertonic saline-epinephrine (HS-E) solution and pure ethanol (PE) was carried out in 67 patients with nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding. The HS-E group included duodenal ulcer (18), gastric ulcer (9), gastric cancer (2), polyp (2), marginal ulcer (1), and esophageal cancer (1). Bleeding was active in 15 (pulsating, 3; oozing, 12). The hemostatic effect was permanent in 29 cases (87.9%) but failed in four cases (12.1%). The PE group consisted of 34 patients with duodenal ulcer (25), gastric ulcer (4), polyp (2), marginal ulcer (2), and gastric cancer (1). There was active bleeding in 14 (pulsating, 3; oozing, 11). The hemostatic effect was permanent in 31 cases (91.2%), temporary in 1 case (2.9%), and failed in 2 cases (5.9%). We conclude that endoscopic local injection with HS-E or PE is a simple maneuver with reasonable cost, high safety, and satisfactory hemostatic efficacy in the treatment of nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding.