Active clinical trials for "Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage"

Patients with atrial fibrillation requiring anticoagulation treatment are at high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. The investigators propose the percutaneous stop the oral anticoagulation and closure of the left atrial appendage with the Amplatzer ® system in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy for atrial fibrillation without associated valvular heart disease, to reduce significantly the risk of stroke while minimizing the risk of bleeding in a group of patients with high risk for both events. ELIGIBLE trial(Left atrial appendage Efficacy of GastroIntestinal Bleeding after closure) is a prospective, multicentric and randomized (2 to 1) trial, comparing percutaneous closure of atrial appendage left versus standard treatment with oral anticoagulants in patients with history of gastrointestinal bleeding and high embolic risk.

Introduction: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is the drug of choice used in patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding (UGIB). Intravenous (IV) PPI is more commonly used than oral form when overt bleeding occurs. Previous study has revealed that oral rabeprazole and IV omeprazole achieved similar intragastric pH elevation. It's probable that oral form and IV PPI provide equal efficacy in treating mild to moderate UGIB patients. Aim: This study aims to compare the effect of three-day oral rabeprazole and iv omeprazole on bleeding control in patients with mild to moderate non-variceal UGIB. Patients and methods: All patients presented with black to tarry stool passage or hematemesis and visited our ER will be evaluated to recruit into this study. They will receive regular vital sign monitoring, laboratory study and nasogastric tube insertion with gastric fluid aspiration. Esophagogastroendoscopy and hemostatic procedure if need will be performed within 12 hours. Those confirmed to have non-variceal UGIB, stable vital signs and agree to participate into this study will be randomized into two groups receiving either oral rabeprazole (20mg bid) or iv omeprazole (40mg qd) for three days. The presence of recurrent bleeding within three days, in-hospital complication and duration of hospital stay will be recorded and analyzed. Expected results: At the end of this study, we will be able to determine whether patients treated with oral rabeprazole and iv omeprazole have similar re-bleeding or complication rates and hospitalization days.

The natural history of cirrhosis has a symptomatic and asymptomatic stage. The symptoms include the development of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, or variceal bleeding. The development of portal hypertension represents a critical transition point in the natural history of cirrhosis, contributing to, or directly responsible for all of these events. It is defined by an increase in intrahepatic vascular resistance to portal venous inflow, with the subsequent development of collateral vessels, such as esophageal or gastric varices. As portal pressures rise over time, however, the resulting increase in variceal size and wall tension translates into an increasing likelihood of rupture and bleeding, leading to death in about 30% of patients. Over the last twenty years, data have emerged regarding the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) in portal hypertension from animal models as well as in vitro experiments. Portal hypertension is a condition characterized by vasodilatation and a hyperdynamic circulation, driven by relative overproduction of nitric oxide23. In animal trials using inhibitors of TNF it has been shown to decrease the development of the hyperdynamic circulatory state and portal pressure.24-25 Based on these data, investigators have examined the role of TNF inhibition with thalidomide. Significant improvement in blocking the development of the hyperdynamic circulation and portal pressures was demonstrated.26 Human trials have also show the efficacy of thalidomide in reducing portal pressures. In that these trials have shown promising results further investigation is

Upper Gastrointestinal bleed is a common presentation in a medical emergency. Patients generally present with hematemesis, melena or in severe cases hematochezia. Incidence and etiology vary from region as well as the level of health care facility. In the US, UGI bleed accountsfor about 300000 admissions per year (6). India has a huge burden of UGI bleed. A study in India showed 4.6% of hospitaladmissions were due to UGI bleed (7). As per the medical record of PGIMER, 2-3 patients of UGIbleed are admitted to the EMOPD every day. Upper GI bleed is anatomically defined as any gastrointestinal bleed originating proximal to ligamentof treitz (8). Causes of UGI bleed are generally divided into variceal and non-variceal in origin. The common etiology of non-variceal bleed are Peptic Ulcer disease (PUD), esophagitis, erosive Gastritis, vascular malformations, Mallory Weiss tear and GI malignancies.Variceal hemorrhage is usually secondary to esophageal varices, but alsocan be due to gastric varices and ectopic varices of the upper GI tract(9).Non-varicealcauses are more common as compared to variceal bleed (10) and among this PUD is the most common (10).But there is recent rising trend of variceal bleed secondary to chronic liver disease and portal hypertension .As per a recently published institutional study, variceal bleed constituted 45.7% of UGI bleed (11). Morbidity and mortality associated with UGI bleed are significantly high.Variceal bleed is becoming a major concern in tertiarycare centers and carries a higher mortality as compared to non variceal bleed(12 ).Clinical severity of UGI bleed may vary from being insignificant to fatal. Mortality from UGI bleed may vary from 2 to 5% where as it around 10-30% in cases of re-bleed (12). Prompt UGI endoscopic procedure is diagnostic as well as therapeutic which should be done ideally within first 24hrsalong with airway, volume and blood resuscitative measures (13).High dose proton pump inhibitors(PPI) are used for non-variceal bleed where as splanchnic vasoconstrictorsare used in variceal bleed along with endoscopic procedure like injection of Epinephrine, Sclerosants, application of haemostatic material like hemoclips/endoclips, over the scope clips, glue or tissue adhesive, haemostatic powder/spray. Beside these endoscopic bipolar electro coagulation, heater probe coagulation, argon plasma coagulator, laser photocoagulation can also be done as and when required. For variceal bleed endoscopic variceal band ligation (EVL) is the main stay of therapy. However routine use of antifibrinolytic agent hasn't been recommended in the guidelines for management of acute UGI bleed. Studies have shown that fibrinolysis may play an important role in GI bleeding dueto premature breakdown of fibrin blood clots at the bleeding site (14). Studies have also shown that many patients with acute UGI bleed have elevated levels of fibrin degradation products (a surrogate marker for fibrinolysis) and that is associated with worse outcomes (14). Fibrinolysisalso contributes to the risk of re-bleed.Literature review suggests that early administration ofTranexamic acid (TXA) reduces mortality due to bleeding in trauma patients (15) and effective in controlling bleeding in menorrhagia (16). Our own institutional study showed that TXA is effective as a bridging therapy in controlling bleeding from haemoptysis before definitive therapeutic intervention done (1). A systematic COCHRANE review of TXA in UGI bleed identified 7 trials (3). These trials showed statistically significant reduction in mortality and reduced need ofsurgical interventions in patients receiving TXA. However the trials had many fallacieslike small sample size, number of biases. The NICE guideline doesn't include TXA inthe management of GI bleed (4). So far studies on use of TXA in UGI bleed haven't been able to either recommend or refute the use of TXA in UGI bleed (3). There is also lack of study form India and the Southeast Asia regarding the efficacy of TXA in UGI bleed. TXA, an anti-fibrinolytic agent, inhibits fibrinolysis by displacing plasminogen from fibrin. So, TXA may have role in bleeding control and preventing re-bleed in acute UGI bleed by stabilization of the clot formation. This study will evaluate the efficacy of early administration of TXA in acute onset UGIbleed, in term of bleeding control, preventing re-bleeding and mortality.

This study is conducted to evaluate the effectivity of hypertonic dextrose spray as an endoscopic topical hemostatic agent, compared to conventional agent (adrenaline injection, followed by hemoclip or thermocoagulation), in patients with acute non-variceal upper GI bleeding.

Small bowel capsule endoscopy is a test used to investigate for any abnormalities in the small bowel. The small bowel is about 4 meters long. The battery time of the capsule is about 8 hours. During this time the capsule takes pictures as it passes through the small bowel. In about 15-20% of capsule tests the battery expires before the capsule passes through the entire small bowel into the colon. Incomplete tests indicate that a variable portion of small bowel was not visualized. Incomplete tests are associated with potential missing of abnormalities in the portion of small bowel that was not reached. The capsule test may often required to be repeated but the problem of incomplete examination may persist. At present no medication has been approved to increase the rate of complete capsule tests. Prucalopride is a medication that has been approved in Canada and Europe for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation. Animal and human studies suggested that prucalopride may enhance the movement of the stomach and the small bowel. A recent presentation at a medical meeting suggested that prucalopride may accelerate the passage of the capsule camera through the small bowel without increasing the chance to miss a lesion in the small bowel. The purpose of this study is to asses if the administration of a single dose of prucalopride is going to decrease the time required by the capsule to move through the small bowel.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether long-acting octreotide is safe and effective in the treatment of patients with Rendu-Osler-Weber (e.g. HHT). The study hypothesis is that octreotide is safe and will reduce transfusion requirements and endoscopy frequency in ROW patients with refractory anaemia due to bleeding gastrointestinal telangiectasias.

The small bowel is poorly suited to standard endoscopy techniques due to its anatomical differences from the colon and the upper gastrointestinal tract. The small bowel has an average length of 6.7 m, with a free mesentery that resists standard "push to advance" endoscopy techniques. New developments in overtubes, which are placed over an enteroscope, have revolutionized doctors ability to deeply intubate the small bowel. Three types of 'augmented' enteroscopy, double balloon enteroscopy (DBE), single balloon enteroscopy (SBE) and spiral enteroscopy (SE), have been developed. Although studies have been performed on these individual techniques, there are no studies comparing SBE and SE, the two techniques used in Johns Hopkins. The investigators propose performing a prospective, randomised trial, to assess the differences between these two techniques. The question of what differences there are between these two techniques, in terms of depth of insertion, diagnostic and therapeutic yields, time required for the procedure and the sedation requirements, are important questions to answer, and depending on the results, would affect the investigators approach to patients with small bowel disease.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized control trial, double-blind study to compare Hexacapron with standard of care treatment to standard of care alone to evaluate the efficacy of adding effect of Hexacapron to standard therapy by decreasing the episodes of rebleeding and mortality in patient with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Up to 5% of patients with recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding remain undiagnosed by upper endoscopy and colonoscopy, the presumed source of bleeding in these patients being the small intestine. These patients fall under the category of "obscure gastrointestinal bleeding," and frequently require an extensive diagnostic work-up. Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) refers to bleeding undiagnosed by upper endoscopy and colonoscopy. In 40-70% of cases of OGIB, a bleeding lesion is localizable to the small bowel. In OGIB, capsule endoscopy (CE) has a diagnostic yield of 40-80%, and has demonstrated diagnostic superiority to push enteroscopy, barium studies, angiography, CT angiography, and routine abdominal CT scan. When CE is non-diagnostic, however, the subsequent diagnostic algorithm is not well-defined. There is currently no established role for cross-sectional imaging for this indication. CT enterography (CTE) combines the spatial and temporal resolution of CT with an orally administered neutral enteric contrast material that permits detailed visualization of the small bowel. Unlike other imaging modalities such as nuclear medicine techniques and catheter angiography, CT is less labor-intensive, more readily available, and provides precise anatomic localization. A novel OGIB-protocol available at Brigham and Women's Hospital for CTE utilizes a dual-phase, dual energy technique that obtains images at two time points to better identify active bleeding in the mesentery. We, the investigators, plan to prospectively study an algorithm that employs CTE and compare to capsule endoscopy to investigate the effectiveness of both modalities and to evaluate the potential role of CTE in OGIB. The goal of our study is to determine observationally the contribution of both CE and the new protocol for CTE to the evaluation and management of overt obscure GI bleeding and accordingly revise the clinical algorithm. We hypothesize that CTE will be as or more effective than CE at identifying culprit lesions in overt, obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.