Uncommon Cause of Gastrointestinal Bleeding
1. Introduction
Gastric antral vascular ectasia is an uncommon cause of chronic gastrointestinal bleeding or iron deficiency anaemia [1]. The condition is associated with dilated small blood vessels in the antrum, or the last part of the stomach. It is also called watermelon stomach because streaky long red areas that are present in the stomach may resemble the markings on watermelon [2]. GAVE is associated with a number of conditions, including portal hypertension, chronic renal failure and collagen vascular diseases particularly scleroderma. GAVE is treated with treatment through the endoscope, including argon plasma coagulation and electrocautery. Other medical treatments have been tried and include estrogen and progesterone therapy and anti-fibrinolytic drugs such as tranexamic acid.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.47829/ACMCR.2021.51201