Selective Vasoconstrictor Infusion in the Management of Arterio-Capillary Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage

Selective intraarterial infusion of vasopressin for control of gastrointestinal bleeding: Experience with 35 cases

“…These results approximate the experience of Brant and Rosch [9]. The overall success rate in arterial bleeding in our series, 59%, is somewhat lower than that reported by other investigators [7,9,10,12]. The overall success rate in arterial bleeding in our series, 59%, is somewhat lower than that reported by other investigators [7,9,10,12].…”

“…Baum [8], and R6sch [12] have reported universal success in the initial control of bleeding from colonic diverticula. In the four instances of right colonic bleeding in our series, one involving colonic diverticula and one related to ectatic submucosal vessels were successfully treated.…”

“…Selective infusion of vasopressin into the superior mesenteric artery to control bleeding from esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension was first reported by Baum et al [3] after they experimentally demonstrated that portal hypertension is reduced by this technique [4]. Subsequently arterial bleeding from a variety of gastrointestinal lesions has been successfully treated in a majority of cases by infusing the supplying artery [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Miscellaneous Pharmaceutical Agents in Interventional Radiology

“…Nusbaum et al described the first case of intravascular vasopressin infusion to control variceal bleeding in 1968 6 ; arterial gastrointestinal bleeding applications quickly followed suit. 7 In the 1990s, embolization replaced the use of vasopressin for upper GI bleeds, however vasopressin was still preferred for lower GI bleeds because of its high efficacy and high rates of bowel infarction after embolization procedures. 8 With the advent of new microcatheters and new embolization agents, embolization is now considered a primary option in the treatment of both upper and lower GI bleeds.…”

Transcatheter Intervention for Non-variceal Gastrointestinal Bleeding: What Have We Learned in 45 Years?

“…The first major therapeutic intervention for GI bleeding was catheter directed intraarterial vasopressin infusion [2]. A somewhat cumbersome procedure that has largely been abandoned in contemporary practice, vasoconstrictor infusion offered a minimally invasive therapy that could be employed in stable and unstable patients alike, for variceal and non-variceal hemorrhage [3]. In the 1970s, arterial embolization initially appeared promising, although its widespread adoption was thwarted by unacceptably high complication rates, primarily colonic ischemia [4].…”