Lower gastrointestinal bleeding differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aditya Ganti M.B.B.S. [2]

Overview

Several diseases present with lower gastrointestinal bleeding and must be differented from each other. The common diseases responsible for lower GI bleeding inlcude diverticulosis, angiodysplasia, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, mesenteric Ischemia, ischemic colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal carcinoma.

Differentiating Lower gastrointestinal bleeding from other Diseases

Several diseases present with lower gastrointestinal bleeding and must be differented from each other. The common diseases responsible for lower GI bleeding inlcude diverticulosis, angiodysplasia, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, mesenteric Ischemia, ischemic colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal carcinoma.

Disease	Symptoms							Other features	Diagnosis
	Abdominal pain	Rectal pain	Weightloss	Fever	Type of GI bleeding	Diarrhea	Constipation		Laboratory findings	Radio-Imaging findings
Diverticulosis	-	-	-	-	Red or maroon-colored blood	-	+	Self limiting Seen in elderly	Normal	Globular outpouchings on CT scan
Angiodysplasia	-	-	-	-	Frank blood	-	-	Painless bleeding Iron deficiency anemia	Normal	Normal
Hemorrhoids	-	+	-	-	Blood on tissues	-	+	Pain during defecation Anemia	-	Tortuoeus dilated vessels on anoscopy
Anal fissures	-	+	-	-	Blood on tissues	-	+	Pain during defecation Pain recurs with every bowel movement	Normal except mild leucocytosis	Anoscopy
Mesenteric Ischemia	+	-	+	+	Frank blood	+	-	Pain alters with eating habits Associated with other comorbid conditions	Leukocytosis Increased hematocrit High anion gap metabolic acidosis Lactic acidosis High phosphate levels	Mesenteric edema Bowel dilatation Bowel wall thickening Intramural gas Mesenteric stranding
Ischemic colitis	+	-	-	+		+	-	3 phases Hyperactive phase Paralytic phase (absent bowel sounds) Shock phase	Elevated white blood cell count more than 15,000/mm3 in 20 patients (27%) The serum bicarbonate level was less than 24 mmol/L in 26 patients (36%)	Mild moderate diffuse bowel wall thickening Marked hyperenhancement of the mucosa
Crohn's disease	+	-	+	+		+	+	Extra intestinal manifestations Uveitis Sarcolitis Anemia Peripheral neuropathy	Anemia Leucocytosis Thrombocytosis + ASCA	Skip lesions Bowel wall thickening Surrounding inflammation, abscess, and fistulae
Ulcerative colitis	+	+	+	+		+	+	Joint swelling Joint pain Inflammation of the eye Skin involvement Fatty liver Thromboembolism Parenchymal lung disease	Anemia Thrombocytosis A high platelet count	Loss of the vascular appearance of the colon Erythema (or redness of the mucosa) and friability of the mucosa Superficial ulceration, which may be confluent Pseudopolyps
Colon carcinoma	+	-†	+	+	Occult bleeding	+	+†		+ FOBT ↑ CEA and CA 19-9 Hypercalcemia	+Biopsy

The following table differentiates all the diseases presenting with abdominal pain and lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Abbreviations: RUQ= Right upper quadrant of the abdomen, LUQ= Left upper quadrant, LLQ= Left lower quadrant, RLQ= Right lower quadrant, LFT= Liver function test, SIRS= Systemic inflammatory response syndrome, ERCP= Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, IV= Intravenous, N= Normal, AMA= Anti mitochondrial antibodies, LDH= Lactate dehydrogenase, GI= Gastrointestinal, CXR= Chest X ray, IgA= Immunoglobulin A, IgG= Immunoglobulin G, IgM= Immunoglobulin M, CT= Computed tomography, PMN= Polymorphonuclear cells, ESR= Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP= C-reactive protein, TS= Transferrin saturation, SF= Serum Ferritin, SMA= Superior mesenteric artery, SMV= Superior mesenteric vein, ECG= Electrocardiogram

Disease Clinical manifestations Diagnosis Comments Symptoms Signs Abdominal Pain Fever Rigors and chills Nausea or vomiting Jaundice Constipation Diarrhea Weight loss GI bleeding Hypo- tension Guarding Rebound Tenderness Bowel sounds Lab Findings Imaging Acute diverticulitis LLQ + ± + − + ± − + Positive in perforated diverticulitis + + Hypoactive Leukocytosis CT scan Ultrasound History of constipation Inflammatory bowel disease Diffuse ± − − ± − + + + − − − Normal or hyperactive Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (P-ANCA) in Ulcerative colitis Anti saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) in Crohn's disease String sign on abdominal x-ray in Crohn's disease Extra intestinal findings: Uveitis Arthritis Infective colitis Diffuse + − ± − − + − + Positive in fulminant colitis ± ± Hyperactive Stool culture and studies Shiga toxin in bloody diarrhea PCR CT scan Bowel wall thickening Edema Colon carcinoma Diffuse/localized − − − − ± ± + + ± − − Normal or hyperactive if obstruction present CBC Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) Colonoscopy Flexible sigmoidoscopy Barium enema CT colonography  PILLCAM 2: A colon capsule for CRC screening may be used in patients with an incomplete colonoscopy who lacks obstruction Hemochromatosis RUQ − − − − − − − Positive in cirrhotic patients − − − N >60% TS >240 μg/L SF Raised LFT Hyperglycemia Ultrasound shows evidence of cirrhosis Extra intestinal findings: Hyperpigmentation Diabetes mellitus Arthralgia Impotence in males Cardiomyopathy Atherosclerosis Hypopituitarism Hypothyroidism Extrahepatic cancer Prone to specific infections Mesenteric ischemia Periumbilical Positive if bowel becomes gangrenous − + − − + + + Positive if bowel becomes gangrenous Positive if bowel becomes gangrenous − Hyperactive to absent Leukocytosis and lactic acidosis Amylase levels D-dimer CT angiography SMA or SMV thrombosis Also known as abdominal angina that worsens with eating Acute ischemic colitis Diffuse + ± + − − + + + + + + Hyperactive then absent Leukocytosis Abdominal x-ray Distension and pneumatosis CT scan Double halo appearance, thumbprinting Thickening of bowel May lead to shock Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm Diffuse ± − + − − − + + + − − N Fibrinogen D-dimer Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST)  Unstable hemodynamics Intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal hemorrhage Diffuse ± − ± − − − − + + − − N ↓ Hb ↓ Hct CT scan History of trauma