Endoscopic electrohemostasis of active upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Emergency esophagogastroduodenoscopy for active upper gastrointestinal bleeding was performed in 160 patients. Endoscopic electrocautery for control of bleeding was considered in the last ninety patients and performed in seventy-one patients. All lesions except esophageal varices were candidates for electrohemostasis. The indications for endoscopic electrocautery were active hemorrhage and precise identification of the bleeding point. The preendoscopic blood loss ranged from 1,500 to 6,000 ml. All seventy-one patients had initial hemostasis and sixty-five (92 per cent) had permanent hemostasis after one treatment. Six patients rebled, and four of these had permanent hemostasis after a second endoscopic electrocauterization. Only two of seventy-one patients had emergency operations for bleeding. There were no complications. Endoscopic electrohemostasis is still an experimental technic which requires further laboratory study and testing before broad general clinical application. This clinical trial suggests that endoscopic electrocautery is an attractive method of controlling active upper gastrointestinal bleeding because it can be safe, effective, and rapid, and is available in most medical communities.