[Thalidomide for the treatment of recurrent gastrointestinal blood loss due to intestinal angiodysplasias].
Two female patients, 86 and 80 years of age, had been treated with blood transfusions for several years and several months, respectively, due to iron-deficiency anaemia caused by gastrointestinal blood loss. Angiodysplasias were detected and subsequently coagulated in the course of repeated gastroscopies and colonoscopies. Due to the failure of this treatment, treatment with thalidomide was started. Thereafter, the gastrointestinal bleeding stopped and there was no longer any need for blood transfusions. Treatment with thalidomide seems an effective therapy for patients with frequently recurring gastrointestinal blood loss due to angiodysplasias who no longer tolerate conventional and invasive procedures due to their physical condition.
de Koning
D B
DB
Universitair Medisch Centrum St Radboud, Kliniek voor Inwendige Ziekten, afd. Maag-, Darm- en Leverziekten, Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen.
Drenth
J P H
JP
Friederich
P
P
Nagengast
F M
FM
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D016888:Angiodysplasia / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D013792:Thalidomide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D013792:Thalidomide