J. Clinical Research and Reports Copy rights@ Maha Alotaibi et.al. Auctores Publishing – Volume 9(2)-207 www.auctoresonline.org ISSN: 2690-1919 Page 1 of 3 An Overvıew of Lower Gastroıntestınal Bleedıng ın Infants and Toddlers: A Revıew Artıcle Volkan Sarper Erikci Department of Pediatric Surgery, İzmir Faculty of Medicine, Sağlık Bilimleri University, İzmir Tepecik Health and Research Center, İzmir- TURKEY. Corresponding Author: Volkan Sarper Erikci, Kazım Dirik Mah. Mustafa Kemal Cad. Hakkıbey apt. No: 45 D.10 35100 Bornova-İzmir, Turkey. Received date: October 26, 2021; Accepted date: December 26, 2021; Published date: January 03, 2022 Citation: Volkan S. Erikci. (2022). An Overvıew of Lower Gastroıntestınal Bleedıng ın Infants and Toddlers: A Revıew Artıcle. J Clinical Research and Reports, 10(1); DOI:10.31579/2690-1919/212 Copyright: © 2022 Volkan Sarper Erikci. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) in infants and toddlers is commonly encountered in clinical practice. There are several factors producing LGIB in these children and are usually managed with regard to the underlying pathology that produces LGIB. Although majority of these bleeding episodes is self-limited, certain infants and toddlers with LGIB may necessitate prompt management including urgent surgical intervention. In this review article it is aimed to review the etiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations and principles of treatment of LGIB in infants and toddlers under the light of relevant literature. Keywords: lower gastrointestinal bleeding; infants and toddlers; etiology; ; weight loss; meckel’s diverticulum; treatment Introduction Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) in infants and toddlers is commonly encountered in daily clinical practice [1-5]. LGIB is defined as blood in the stool derived from lesions originating from any location in the gastrointestinal tract distal to the ligament of Treitz which determines the duodenojejunal junction. Of the children presenting to the hospital with rectal bleeding, approximately one-third have LGIB and the remaining have either bleeding originating from upper gastrointestinal tract or bleeding with unclear etiology [6]. Hopefully only 5-10 percent of these cases show findings of severe gastrointestinal bleeding necessitating prompt management [1, 6]. Stools in these children may be in the form of hematochezia as bright red or pink, melena as tar-like substance or blood may not be visible by eye indicating occult bleeding which can be detected by laboratory tests. In this review article it is aimed to overview common causes of LGIB in infants and toddlers together with therapeutic options in the management and the literature on this issue is also reviewed for readers. There are several etiological factors for LGIB in infants and toddlers (one month to 2 years of age). These are depicted in (Table 1). Anal fissures Allergic colitis Intussusception Meckel’s diverticulum Lymphonodular hyperplasia Gastrointestinal duplication cysts Coagulopathy Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease Infantile and very early-onset inflammatory disease Table 1: The most common causes of LGIB in infants and toddlers. Anal fissures Infants and toddlers usually present with constipation associated with anal fissures following the introduction of solid foods or cow’s milk into the diet, during toilet training or at the time of entry to school. Most of the previous reports have documented that constipation with anal fissure formation is the most common cause of LGIB in toddlers and school age children [7-9]. The diagnosis of anal fissure is easy by everything the anal canal the fissure can easily be seen at the usual position of 6 or 12 o’clock Open Access Review Article Journal of Clinical Research and Reports Volkan Sarper Erikci * AUCTORES Globalize your Research