Significance of scintigraphy for the localization of obscure gastrointestinal bleedings

Table 1 Patients characteristics

	Characteristics (n = 92)
	Average	Range (%)
Age	60	17-88
Male	52	56.5
Gastrointestinal bleeding without underlying disease	47	51.1
Gastrointestinal bleeding with underlying	45	48.9
disease
Gastro-intestinal malignancy	11	11.9
Diverticulosis	5	5.4
Acute leukemia	6	6.5
Chronic renal insufficiency	3	3.3
Angiodysplasia	3	3.3
Chronic inflammatory bowel disease	4	4.4
Hepatic cirrhosis	3	3.3
Others	10	11.9
Acute gastro-intestinal bleeding	55	59.8
Chronic gastro-intestinal bleeding	37	40.2
Use of red blood cell concentrates
≤ 1	70	76.1
2	17	18.5
≥ 3	5	5.4
Provocation test with heparin	13	14.1
Positive	9	9.8
Negative	4	4.4
Intestinoscopies during surgery	8	8.7
With a definite bleeding localization	2	2.2
Without a definite bleeding localization	6	6.5
Mortality	9	10.9

Table 2 Details of performed scintigraphy

	Negative scintigraphy result	Positive scintigraphy result
Total (n = 92)	n = 25 (27.2%)	n = 67 (72.8%)
Total time of scintigraphy (h)	18 (0.75-25)	19 (1-48)
Radioactivity (MBq)	903 (312-1360)	975 (486-1300)
Gastrointestinal bleeding without underlying disease	11 (44%)	36 (54%)
Gastrointestinal bleeding with underlying disease	14 (56%)	31 (46%)
Acute bleeding	17 (68%)	38 (57%)
Chronic bleeding	8 (32%)	29 (43%)
Surgery required	3 (3.3%)	22 (23.9%)
Laboratory values
Hemoglobin (mg/dL)	10.1 (6.9-15.5)	8.6 (3.2-15.6)
Platelet count (/dL)	241 (18-643)	268 (40-665)
PTT (s)	36.5 (24.2-6.9)	33.5 (21.2-64.7)
Quick (%)	89 (51-100)	89 (39-100)
Use of red blood cell concentrates
≤ 1	20	50
2	5	12
≥ 3	0	5