Abstract

Background/Aim: Gastrointestinal blood loss is the most common cause of Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) in men and postmenopausal women. Thus, esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy are widely used to examine the gastrointestinal tract, in search for the cause of IDA. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and biochemical variables that predicted the outcome of endoscopic findings in patients with IDA. Methods: Patients diagnosed as IDA from 2001 to 2004 were referred and retrogradely analyzed using their clinical, biological, endoscopic, and histological data. Results: 78 patients (21 men, 67 women: mean age 49.3 years) with IDA were enrolled, and 28.9% of patients had bleeding-related lesions. The mean age of patients with evidence of bleeding was 54.8 years, which was significantly higher compared with 43.7 years of the non-bleeding group (p=0.026). The reticulocyte count for the bleeding-related group was 2.8%, which was also significantly higher compared with 2.0% of the non-bleeding group (p=0.002). Conclusions: The prevalence of upper GI lesions were higher than lower GI lesions. Endoscopy revealed a source of IDA in 28.9% of cases. For hospitalized patients with IDA, endoscopy should be recommended to those older than 60 years of age, and those with increased reticulocyte count. (Intest Res 2005;3:68-73)

• Keywords: Iron Deficiency Anemia, Age, Reticulocyte Count