Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Course overview

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding manifests at a rate of 84-160 per 100,000 people per year and has a mortality rate of about 10% (Kurien & Lobo, 2015). Bleeding in the GI tract happens for a variety of reasons. It may be occult or obvious and can occur anywhere between the throat and the rectum. It can be difficult to detect until a patient has lost a significant amount of blood. A useful way to differentiate the various etiologies of GI bleeding is to separate the causes that originate in the upper GI tract from those that originate in the lower GI tract. To ensure patients receive appropriate and life-saving care, nurses must understand not only the causes but also the warning signs and possible consequences of GI bleeding. The goal of this course is to describe how to recognize and manage the most common causes of upper and lower GI bleeding for nurses in a variety of healthcare settings.