18 February 2009 – Biotech Week
2009 FEB 18 – (NewsRx.com) — “Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) due to occult gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss usually remains unnoticed until patient become symptomatic. There is sparse data in IDA patients without gastrointestinal symptoms,” scientists writing in the journal BMC Gastroenterology report.
“This study was designed to find out the frequency and predictors of endoscopic lesions in IDA without gastrointestinal symptoms. Cross-sectional study performed on a convenience sample of consecutive subjects. Ninety five consecutive patients with laboratory based diagnosis of IDA having no gastrointestinal symptoms were interviewed and their clinical and biochemical variables were recorded. All the study patients underwent esophago-gastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy. Endoscopic findings were documented as presence/absence of bleeding related lesion and presence/absence of cause of IDA. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to identify variables significantly related to outcome variables. Possible cause of anaemia was found in 71% and bleeding related lesions were found in 53% of patients. Upper gastrointestinal tract lesions were found in 41% of patients with bleeding related lesions. On multivariable logistic regression; advancing age, low mean corpuscular volume
(MCV <= 60 fl), and positive fecal occult blood test were predictive factors for bleeding related GI lesions and cause of IDA Conclusion: Clinical and Biochemical markers can predict gastrointestinal lesions on endoscopy in IDA patients without gastrointestinal symptoms,” wrote S. Majid and colleagues, Aga Khan University.
The researchers concluded: “High proportion of upper gastrointestinal involvement warrants EGD as initial endoscopic procedure however, this needs validation by further studies.”
Majid and colleagues published their study in BMC Gastroenterology (Predictors of gastrointestinal lesions on endoscopy in iron deficiency anemia without gastrointestinal symptoms. BMC Gastroenterology, 2008;8():52).
Additional information can be obtained by contacting M. Salih, Aga Khan University Hospital, Dept. of Medical, Gastroenterology Sect, Karachi, Pakistan.
The publisher of the journal BMC Gastroenterology can be contacted at: Biomedical Central Ltd., Current Science Group, Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St., London W1T 4LB, England.
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