Skip Navigation
Skip to contents

Clin Endosc : Clinical Endoscopy

OPEN ACCESS

Articles

Page Path
HOME > Clin Endosc > Volume 52(5); 2019 > Article
Brief Report Re-Visiting Metoclopramide to Optimize Visualization with Gastrointestinal Bleeding – Mobilizing Existing Data
Derek J. Estes1,orcid, Shivali Berera2, Amar R. Deshpande3, Daniel A. Sussman3
Clinical Endoscopy 2019;52(5):516-517.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5946/ce.2019.046
Published online: July 16, 2019

1Department of Medicine, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

2Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

3Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

Correspondence: Derek J. Estes Department of Medicine, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016960 R-59, Miami, FL 33101, USA Tel: +1-321-431-1233, Fax: +1-305-243-4920, E-mail: destes@med.miami.edu
• Received: February 7, 2019   • Revised: March 12, 2019   • Accepted: March 12, 2019

Copyright © 2019 Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

  • 4,225 Views
  • 121 Download
  • 2 Web of Science
  • 3 Crossref
  • 3 Scopus
prev
Proximal gastric visualization during endoscopy is often precluded in the event of an upper gastrointestinal bleed (UGIB) due to retained blood [1]. Prokinetic agents might improve visualization by increasing the tone and amplitude of gastric contractions [2].
Despite its common use, there remains no published data on the efficacy of using metoclopramide prior to endoscopy in cases of acute UGIB. The 2010 consensus recommendation against the routine use of promotility agents in nonvariceal UGIB referenced a meta-analysis in which prokinetic administration reduced the need for repeat endoscopy without additional clinical benefits [3,4]. This observation was driven by the results of two randomized control trials (RCTs) using erythromycin, with conclusions regarding metoclopramide limited to the findings of two unpublished abstracts [5,6]. Since 2010, a meta-analysis of eight RCTs has shown that pre-endoscopic erythromycin improved visualization, reduced the need for repeat endoscopy, and decreased the length of hospital stay [7]. Conversely, a placebo-controlled RCT of 23 patients presented in an abstract form showed no effect of metoclopramide on visualization [8,9].
Given the lack of published data on the use of metoclopramide, we re-examined our institution’s data on endoscopic visualization in patients with UGIB presented in an abstract form. This RCT randomized 52 consecutive patients with overt UGIB (including from portal hypertension) who had not received gastric lavage or motility-affecting medications to receive either metoclopramide 30–120 minutes prior to endoscopy or no medication. The investigators used Avgerinos scores [10,11] to assess the visual quality of the endoscopy. Previous reports showed a non-significant trend toward improved proximal gastric visualization, with no effects on the duration of endoscopy, transfusion requirement, need for repeat endoscopy, or length of hospital stay. We have subsequently stratified these results based on the etiology for bleeding. Our subgroup analysis revealed that metoclopramide improves fundal visualization in patients with non-ulcer causes of UGIB (mean Avgerinos score: 1.67, standard deviation [SD]=0.52) compared to not using metoclopramide in patients with non-ulcer causes of UGIB (mean Avgerinos score: 0.40, SD=0.55). These findings require further validation with a larger sample size but raise the hypothesis that metoclopramide may improve visualization in the subgroup of patients in whom portal hypertension is the etiology for UGIB.
  • 1. Stollman NH, Putcha RV, Neustater BR, Tagle M, Raskin JB, Rogers AI. The uncleared fundal pool in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: implications and outcomes. Gastrointest Endosc 1997;46:324–327.ArticlePubMed
  • 2. Georgiadis GT, Markantonis-Kyroudis S, Triantafillidis JK. Prokinetic agents: current aspects with focus on cisapride. Ann Gastroenterol 2000;13:269–289.
  • 3. Barkun AN, Bardou M, Kuipers EJ, et al. International consensus recommendations on the management of patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Ann Intern Med 2010;152:101–113.ArticlePubMed
  • 4. Barkun AN, Bardou M, Martel M, Gralnek IM, Sung JJ. Prokinetics in acute upper GI bleeding: a meta-analysis. Gastrointest Endosc 2010;72:1138–1145.ArticlePubMed
  • 5. Habashi SL, Lambiase LR, Kottoor R. Prokinetics infusion prior to endoscopy for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a randomized, controlled, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial. Am J Gastroenterol 2007;102:S526.Article
  • 6. Sussman DA, Deshpande AR, Parra JL, Ribeiro AC. Intravenous metoclopramide to increase mucosal visualization during endoscopy in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a randomized, controlled study. Gastrointest Endosc 2008;67:AB247.Article
  • 7. Rahman R, Nguyen DL, Sohail U, et al. Pre-endoscopic erythromycin administration in upper gastrointestinal bleeding: an updated meta-analysis and systematic review. Ann Gastroenterol 2016;29:312–317.ArticlePubMedPMC
  • 8. Daram S, Johnson W, Abrasley C, Siddaiah N, Garretson R. A double blind randomized study to evaluate the use of metoclopramide before endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Am J Gastroenterol 2010;105(Suppl 1):S508.Article
  • 9. Daram SR, Garretson R. Erythromycin is preferable to metoclopramide as a prokinetic in acute upper GI bleeding. Gastrointest Endosc 2011;74:234; author reply 234-235.ArticlePubMed
  • 10. Avgerinos A, Nevens F, Raptis S, Fevery J. Early administration of somatostatin and efficacy of sclerotherapy in acute oesophageal variceal bleeds: the European acute bleeding oesophageal variceal episodes (ABOVE) randomised trial. Lancet 1997;350:1495–1499.ArticlePubMed
  • 11. Frossard JL, Spahr L, Queneau PE, et al. Erythromycin intravenous bolus infusion in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Gastroenterology 2002;123:17–23.ArticlePubMed

Figure & Data

REFERENCES

    Citations

    Citations to this article as recorded by  
    • Emergency medicine updates: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding
      Brit Long, Michael Gottlieb
      The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.2024; 81: 116.     CrossRef
    • The Use of Pre-Endoscopic Metoclopramide Does Not Prevent the Need for Repeat Endoscopy: A U.S. Based Retrospective Cohort Study
      Mark Ayoub, Carol Faris, Julton Tomanguillo, Nadeem Anwar, Harleen Chela, Ebubekir Daglilar
      Life.2024; 14(4): 526.     CrossRef
    • Gastrointestinal Bleeding in the Neonate: Updates on Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Management
      Patrick T. Reeves, La’Toya James-Davis, Muhammad A. Khan
      NeoReviews.2023; 24(7): e403.     CrossRef

    • PubReader PubReader
    • ePub LinkePub Link
    • Cite
      CITE
      export Copy Download
      Close
      Download Citation
      Download a citation file in RIS format that can be imported by all major citation management software, including EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and Reference Manager.

      Format:
      • RIS — For EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and most other reference management software
      • BibTeX — For JabRef, BibDesk, and other BibTeX-specific software
      Include:
      • Citation for the content below
      Re-Visiting Metoclopramide to Optimize Visualization with Gastrointestinal Bleeding – Mobilizing Existing Data
      Clin Endosc. 2019;52(5):516-517.   Published online July 16, 2019
      Close
    • XML DownloadXML Download
    Re-Visiting Metoclopramide to Optimize Visualization with Gastrointestinal Bleeding – Mobilizing Existing Data
    Re-Visiting Metoclopramide to Optimize Visualization with Gastrointestinal Bleeding – Mobilizing Existing Data

    Clin Endosc : Clinical Endoscopy Twitter Facebook
    Close layer
    TOP