Mental HealthHow To Confirm The Causes Of Iron Deficiency Anemia In Young Women
Iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) is commonly seen in women aged under 50 years. The diagnostic workflow in young women affected by IDA is not clearly established. The British Society of Gastroenterology recommends gastroscopy only in IDA women younger than 45 years presenting with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. However, symptoms are often mild and aspecific in IDA women and the gastroscopy is an invasive procedure associated with a high number of refusals. In a previous work on IDA premenopausal women, gastroscopy was performed in all patients, later deemed unnecessary in almost 30% of the studied women because these were affected only by menorrhagia.
A research team led by Bruno Annibale from Italy prospectively evaluate the usefulness of a pre-endoscopic serological screening for H. pylori infection and celiac disease with the use of two tests (human recombinant tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies and anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies) in women aged Notes:
Reference: Vannella L, Gianni D, Lahner E, Amato A, Grossi E, Delle, Fave G, Annibale B. Pre-endoscopic screening for Helicobacter pylori and celiac disease in young anemic women. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(22): 2748-2753 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/2748.asp
Correspondence to: Bruno Annibale, MD, Department of Digestive and Liver Disease, Sant"Andrea Hospital, 1035 Grottorossa Street, 00189 Rome, Italy.
Lai-Fu Li
World Journal of Gastroenterology