Over-the-Scope Clips for High-Risk Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Over-the-scope endoscopic clips (OTSCs) have been used in difficult-to-control gastrointestinal bleeding. To evaluate their ability to control high-risk gastrointestinal bleeding, investigators retrospectively evaluated outcomes in 67 patients who had been treated with OTSCs as either primary therapy (49 patients) or rescue therapy (18). High-risk lesions were defined by location (situated in major arterial territory), ulcer characteristics (e.g., visible large artery, fibrosis), inability to rule out perforation, and previous failure of standard endoscopic therapy.

Sixty patients had upper gastrointestinal bleeding from 49 ulcers (43 gastric or duodenal). These patients' mean Rockall score was 7 and their mean Blatchford score was 10.

Techni…