Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (differential)

Lower gastrointestinal bleeding usually occurs distal to the ligament of Treitz, and has a wide differential diagnosis:

• diverticular disease
• enterocolitis
  • infective
  • Crohn’s disease
  • ulcerative colitis
  • ischemic colitis
• vascular malformation
  • vascular ectasia
  • angiodysplasia
  • arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
• polyp
• tumor
• vasculitides
• portal hypertensive enteropathy or colopathy
• Meckel diverticulum
• ulcer
• aorto-enteric fistula
• anal fissure
• hemorrhoids
• perianal fistula(s)
• iatrogenic, e.g. post polypectomy