Diagnostic Approach
Diagnosis is often based on direct observation of blood in the stool or vomit. This can be confirmed with a fecal occult blood test. Differentiating between upper and lower bleeding in some cases can be difficult. The severity of an upper GI bleed can be judged based on the Blatchford score or Rockall score. The Rockall score is the more accurate of the two. AS of 2008 there is no scoring system useful for lower GI bleeds.
Read more about this topic: Gastrointestinal Bleeding
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