Gastro-intestinal bleeding--a major cause of iron deficiency in the elderly.
Iron deficiency of 10 g/dl haemoglobin or less was found in 18 (3.5%) of 511 patients admitted in one year to the Middlesex Hospital Geriatric Unit. Three patients were frail and not investigated. Gastro-intestinal lesions were demonstrated in all remaining 15 patients and specific therapy was instituted in 10 cases. Surgery was performed for colonic cancer at a resectable stage (Dukes B) in two cases. Patients with iron deficiency require adequate gastro-enterological investigation.
D000368:Aged; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male