The effect of desmopressin on massive gastrointestinal bleeding in hereditary telangiectasia unresponsive to treatment with cryoprecipitate.

A patient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and reduced levels of von Willebrand factor had severe recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Treatment with either desmopressin acetate or cryoprecipitate normalized both bleeding time and kaolin-activated partial thromboplastin time. Hematochezia (five episodes) continued, however, for a week despite daily treatment with cryoprecipitate, whereas treatment with desmopressin at the onset of three later episodes of hematochezia resulted in the prompt cessation of bleeding.