[Iron-deficiency anaemia in patients in their 80s].

Iron-deficiency anaemia in very old patients is a frequent finding; this often poses a diagnostic dilemma for the physician. For example, should additional testing take place? And if so, what kind of tests? Is prescribing iron supplement therapy and adopting an expectative course sufficient? The two cases in this article illustrate different treatment strategies. If doubts about which strategy to choose arise, it is recommended that iron first be supplied and the effect of this treatment checked after three weeks.

Intravenous tigecycline as adjunctive or alternative therapy for severe refractory Clostridium difficile infection.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has become more refractory to standard therapy. We describe 4 patients with severe refractory CDI who were successfully treated with tigecycline. Symptoms improved within 1 week.