TITLE:
Guitarist Pick for Melena: A Unique Case of an Upper GI Bleed
AUTHORS:
Tiffany Lambrou, Vikas Khullar, Devi Rampertab, Roniel Cabrera
KEYWORDS:
Foreign Body, GI Bleed, Endoscopy, Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.8 No.8,
August
31,
2017
ABSTRACT: Gastrointestinal bleeds are a commonly observed complication after left ventricular assist device placement and usually caused by formation of arteriovenous malformations or acquired von Willebrand disease in the setting of anticoagulation use. We present a unique case of an upper GI bleed in which the cause was likely due to the impaction of a guitar pick into the duodenal bulb in the setting of continuous flow-LVAD on anticoagulation with elevated INR and discuss the pathophysiology of GI bleeds post-LVAD placement and relevant concerns about finding foreign bodies in the GI tract and their complications.