Muhammad Azam, Azeem Taj, Nayab Haider, Waseem Amer, Muhmmad Imran.
Role of upper gastrointestinal Endoscopy in patients with iron deficiency Anemia.
Pak Postgrad Med J Jan ;11(1):12-5.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) In adult men and post-menopausal women is most commonly the result of chronic gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Upper GI tract lesions are more commonly associated with IDA than lower GI tract lesions. This study was carried out to find out the role of upper GI endoscopy in evaluating patients with IDA. The study included 40 patients (24 males and 16 females). Fatigue and exertional dyspnea were the commonest symptoms due to anemia. The commonest gastrointestinal symptom was epigastric pain followed by retrosternal burning. Overall, 60% of the patients with IDA had lesions on endoscopy. The commonest lesions found were gastric erosions (45%) followed by peptic ulceration (32%). Other lesions Identified were esophagitis, gastric neoplasm and coeliac disease. It was seen that the presence of GI symptoms almost doubles the chances of finding the lesions as compared to asymptomatic patients. Patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) had increased incidence of gastric erosions. We recommend that all adult men and post-menopausal women with IDA should undergo upper GI endoscopy to find out the cause of IDA. Moreover, patients with IDA who have negative endoscopy should be evaluated for coeliac disease through duodenal biopsies.

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