Anemia and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Abstract

Too often anemia is considered a rare or unimportant manifestation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, over the last 10 years a number of studies have been conducted and the most relevant conclusions obtained are: (1) anemia is quite common in IBD; (2) although in many cases anemia parallels the clinical activity of the disease, many patients in remission have anemia, and iron, vitamin B12 and/or folic acid deficiency; (3) anemia, and also iron deficiency without anemia, have important consequences in the clinical status and quality of life of the patient; (4) oral iron can lead to gastrointestinal intolerance and failure of treatment; (5) intravenous iron is an effective and safe way to treat iron deficiency; (6) erythropoietin is needed in a significant number of cases to achieve normal hemoglobin levels. Thus, the clinician caring for IBD patients should have a comprehensive knowledge of anemia, and apply recently published guidelines in clinical practice.

• Authors: Fernando Gomollón, Javier P Gisbert
• Journal: World journal of gastroenterology (World J Gastroenterol) Vol. 15 Issue 37 Pg. 4659-65 (Oct 07 2009) ISSN: 2219-2840 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19787829 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Erythropoietin
• Iron

Topics

• Anemia (diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, therapy)
• Anemia, Iron-Deficiency (epidemiology)
• Dietary Supplements
• Erythropoietin (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (complications, epidemiology, metabolism)
• Iron (metabolism, therapeutic use)
• Iron Deficiencies
• Prevalence
• Quality of Life
• Treatment Outcome