title: Pediatric gastrointestinal bleeding: Perspectives from the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology.
abstract: There are many causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in children, and this condition is not rare, having a reported incidence of 6.4%. Causes vary with age, but show considerable overlap; moreover, while many of the causes in the pediatric population are similar to those in adults, some lesions are unique to children. The diagnostic approach for pediatric GIB includes definition of the etiology, localization of the bleeding site and determination of the severity of bleeding; timely and accurate diagnosis is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality. To assist medical care providers in the evaluation and management of children with GIB, the "Gastro-Ped Bleed Team" of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) carried out a systematic search on MEDLINEviaPubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) to identify all articles published in English from January 1990 to 2016; the following key words were used to conduct the electronic search: "upper GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "lower GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "obscure GIB" and "pediatric" [all fields]; "GIB" and "endoscopy" [all fields]; "GIB" and "therapy" [all fields]. The identified publications included articles describing randomized controlled trials, reviews, case reports, cohort studies, case-control studies and observational studies. References from the pertinent articles were also reviewed. This paper expresses a position statement of SIGENP that can have an immediate impact on clinical practice and for which sufficient evidence is not available in literature. The experts participating in this effort were selected according to their expertise and professional qualifications.
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martellossi
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Erasmo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miele
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arrigo
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Giovanna
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Graziani
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cardile
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gaiani
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Luigi
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: de'Angelis
authors.affiliation: Claudio Romano, Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Human Pathology in Adulthood and Childhood "G. Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Torroni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004724:Endoscopy; D005762:Gastroenterology / Q000379:methods*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007558:Italy; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D012008:Recurrence; D012955:Societies, Medical
keywords: Endoscopy; Gastrointestinal bleeding; Lower gastrointestinal bleeding; Pediatric; Upper gastrointestinal bleeding