Utility of Hemoccult Testing Before Therapeutic Anticoagulation in Venous Thromboembolism.

Objectives: Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) is performed routinely before starting therapeutic anticoagulation in patients despite it never being validated to predict gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) risk. Our objective was to determine the utility in checking the guaiac FOBT test (gFOBT) before initiating therapeutic anticoagulation in patients with a new diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review that examined patients with a diagnosis of VTE admitted during a 2-year period in one mid-sized tertiary care center.

Zinc and gastrointestinal disease.

This review is a current summary of the role that both zinc deficiency and zinc supplementation can play in the etiology and therapy of a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases. The recent literature describing zinc action on gastrointestinal epithelial tight junctions and epithelial barrier function is described. Zinc enhancement of gastrointestinal epithelial barrier function may figure prominently in its potential therapeutic action in several gastrointestinal diseases.