Gastrointestinal bleeding in children

Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding is bleeding that occurs in the digestive tract inside the child's body. Pathology appears with manifestations such as vomiting blood, bloody stools or black stools.
Gastrointestinal bleeding in children accounts for about 10-20% of cases examined at specialized medical facilities. Each patient will have a different level of bleeding. The disease can be benign and usually resolves on its own, but there are still some cases of serious changes that are dangerous for children, so it needs to be detected early and treated promptly.

To know the cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in children, it is necessary to determine the location of the bleeding. Based on the location of bleeding, it can be divided into two main types: upper gastrointestinal bleeding and lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a common condition in children, mainly due to a number of causes such as: coagulopathy, stress ulcers, vascular malformations, Mallory Weiss tear due to vomiting, mucosal abrasions esophagus, vascular malformations.

Currently, according to some scientific studies, lower gastrointestinal bleeding is mainly caused by complications of duodenal and gastric ulcers. Helicobacter pylori is the main cause of inflammation and ulcers. Sharing items such as bowls, chopsticks, spoons, brushes, household utensils, etc., can cause children to be infected with HP bacteria. In addition, some children still have the disease due to intussusception, anal fissure, colon polyp, vascular malformation, infectious enteritis, colon polyp, Meckel's diverticulum, inflammatory bowel disease, volvulus, Schonlein Henoch, Hemolytic uremic syndrome, Meckel's diverticulum,...
View now: Diagnostic imaging techniques for gastric and intestinal bleeding (gastrointestinal bleeding) in children with SPECT/CT

Gastrointestinal bleeding in children often has no obvious symptoms until severe symptoms such as black stools or vomiting, bloody vomiting, require hospitalization. However, there are still some signs that parents can recognize early such as: nausea, vomiting, belching, always full stomach, pain in the chest, burning pain in the middle of the breastbone and navel, children often lose weight. , fatigue, hiccups, anorexia, difficulty swallowing, bad breath, diarrhea, anemia,...
The above signs are very common in children when they are sick. Although it does not have to be a stomach or duodenal ulcer to cause gastrointestinal bleeding, this is also a warning sign for parents to recognize, take their child to the hospital soon for diagnosis and find out the exact cause. causative agents, thereby providing effective treatment.

To effectively treat gastrointestinal bleeding in children, parents need to take their children to see a specialist for diagnosis and find out the cause of the disease. Depending on the cause, the doctor will choose the most optimal treatment for your child. Some of the treatments for gastrointestinal bleeding based on common causes include:

If bleeding is due to this cause, doctors usually choose to infuse fresh frozen plasma 10ml/kg and vitamin K1 1mg/kg intramuscular or intravenous injection.

With this condition, the doctor will usually perform a gastroduodenal endoscopy in combination with hemostasis. Then, administer acid-reducing drugs to proton pump inhibitors or H2 receptor antagonists.

To overcome the gastrointestinal bleeding caused by esophageal varices, it is necessary to place a tube to help stop the bleeding at the site of the rupture. Then, the doctor will use Sandostatin with the usual dose of 1 μg/kg bolus, 1 μg/kg continuous IV infusion per hour (mixed with 0.9% NaCl, no glucose, up to 50 μg/1 hour). , then maintain the range from 0.3 - 0.5 μg/kg/1 hour for 3 - 5 days.

This method is often applied when the doctor transfuses many times but the patient still has gastrointestinal bleeding and the blood volume is over 80ml/kg. Cases requiring surgical intervention are usually gastrointestinal bleeding due to intussusception, Meckel's diverticulum, hemangioma, colorectal polyps, and necrotizing enterocolitis.
Gastrointestinal bleeding in children is a curable disease if it is detected early and treated properly. To recognize this disease, parents need to pay attention to warning signs that children are at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. At the same time, it is necessary to bring the child to the hospital immediately for timely intervention, to avoid dangerous complications that the disease can cause.
With many years of experience in examining and treating diseases in children, now the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec International General Hospital has become one of the major health care centers, capable of examining , screening and treatment of many specialized diseases in children. Therefore, if the child has warning signs of gastrointestinal bleeding, parents can take the child to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and receive support and advice from doctors and nutritionists. nursing.