Acute severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) can be treated by endoscopy safely and effectively. At present, the data on the efficacy of endoscopy in the treatment of patients with LGIB are still being collected. Thus, guidelines to manage patients with LGIB are still in development. Herein, based on the recent literature and their twenty year experience in their units in the US and in Japan, the authors summarize the role of endoscopic hemostasis therapy in acute severe LGIB with a focus on how to perform the hemostasis techniques.

Lower gastrointestinal bleeding is bleeding from a colonic source. Rapid colon purge using 4 to 6 L of polyethylene glycol followed by early colonoscopy, within 24 hours of presentation, is recommended to optimize the detection and management of bleeding sources. Although the data are mixed, early colonoscopy seems to be associated with higher detection of bleeding lesions and therapeutic interventions. There is no clear benefit for early colonoscopy in terms of reduced duration of stay, rebleeding, transfusion requirement, or surgery compared with patients undergoing elective colonoscopy. Further studies are needed to determine the effect of early colonoscopy on clinically important outcomes.