Pro/con debate: Octreotide has an important role in the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding of unknown origin?
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* Corresponding author: Alan N Barkun alan.barkun@muhc.mcgill.ca
1 Intensive Care Unit, King Abdulaziz Medical City, College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh 11426, Saudi Arabia
2 Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 Divisions of Gastroenterology and Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University, and the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada
4 Division of Clinical Pharmacology, LPPCE, Faculty of Medicine, Dijon Cedex, France
Critical Care 2006, 10:218 doi:10.1186/cc4958
Published: 3 July 2006Abstract
Whether it is the primary reason for admission or a complication of critical illness, upper gastrointestinal bleeding is commonly encountered in the intensive care unit. In this setting, in the absence of endoscopy, intensivists generally provide supportive care (transfusion of blood products) and acid suppression (such as proton pump inhibitors). More recently, octreotide (a somatostatin analogue) has been used in such patients. However, its precise role in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding is not necessarily clear and the drug is associated with significant costs. In this issue of Critical Care, two expert teams debate the merits of using octreotide in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.