Randomised clinical trial: intravenous vs oral iron for the treatment of anaemia after acute gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background: Acute gastrointestinal bleeding is prevalent condition and iron deficiency anaemia is a common comorbidity, yet anaemia treatment guidelines for affected patients are lacking.

Aim: To compare efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and oral ferrous sulphate (FeSulf) in patients with anaemia secondary to non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding METHODS: A prospective 42-day study randomised 61 patients with haemoglobin <10 g/dL upon discharge (Day 0) to receive FCM (n = 29; Day 0: 1000 mg, Day 7: 500 or 1000 mg; per label) or FeSulf (n = 32; 325 mg/12 hours for 6 weeks). Outcome measures were assessed on Days 0 (baseline), 7, 21 and 42.

Ulcerative colitis in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency: does the treatment differ from the routine?

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is associated with gastrointestinal manifestations, in particular diarrhea (1,2). It is linked to autoimmune disorders such as nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (NLH), possibly increasing the risk of lymphoma (3). The prevalence of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CIBD) in these patients is increased, above all Crohn's disease (4,5) and its treatment does not seem to differ from the standard (2).

[Effectiveness of maintenance azathioprine therapy without oral cyclosporine after severe attacks of ulcerative colitis refractory to endovenous steroids].

Introduction: Intravenous (i.v.) cyclosporine (CsA) has proved effective in controlling acute attacks of ulcerative colitis unresponsive to IV steroids.