Interventional endoscopic treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding - when, how, and how often

Acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is still associated with high mo rtality. reducing the rebleeding rate is the major challenge in therapeutic endoscopy. The following article describes the indications, techniques and limitations of endoscopic treatment of upper GI bleeding. Endoscopic techn iques such as endoscopic sclerotherapy (EIS), endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL), cyanoacrylate obliteration, argon plasma coagulation (APC), and the application of hemoclip are described and compared concerning their efficac y. The pros and cons of "second-look" endoscopy are discussed.