A prospective evaluation of iron deficiency anemia in the GI endoscopy setting: role of standard endoscopy, videocapsule endoscopy, and CT-enteroclysis.

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a frequently encountered condition in clinical practice. After conventional endoscopy, the cause of anemia remains unknown in up to 40% of patients.

Objective: To evaluate prospectively the diagnostic efficacy of a systematic endoscopic approach to IDA and to compare the diagnostic yield of videocapsule endoscopy (VCE) and CT-enteroclysis in endoscopy-negative patients.