[Angiodysplasia of the small bowel: a possible cause of anemia even in mild chronic renal failure].

Background: Gastroenteric angiodysplasia (AD) is a vascular lesion characterized by vascular ectasias to the submucous sheath of the gastrointestinal tract. Lesions can be flat or raised, isolated or grouped and can break or ulcerate causing acute hemorrhage or, more commonly, chronic bleeding.

Case-report: We describe a 65-year-old patient with a 3-yr history of chronic renal failure (CRF), who gradually developed anemia (hemoglobin (Hb) 10 g/dl) without any episodes of clinically relevant bleeding or any exposure to bleeding risk factors. Blood pressure (BP) was normal and renal function was stable (serum creatinine (Cr) 1.9 mg/dl). Routine laboratory tests showed a slight reduction in serum iron and transferrin saturation and a slightly elevated absolute reticulocyte count. These findings were associated with a positive occult gastrointestinal blood test and raised the clinical suspicion of chronic gastrointestinal blood loss. Oesophagogastro-duodenoscopy and colonoscopy demonstrated an absence of significant lesions, suggesting the need to investigate for a lesion localized in the small intestine. Capsular endoscopy, a recently developed endoscopic technique, particularly suited for small bowel pathology, was performed, and demonstrated the presence of an angiodysplasic lesion, located in the jejunum.

Conclusions: Our case report supports the necessity for a complete clinical and laboratory evaluation of the possible causes of anemia superimposed on relative erythropoietin deficiency in CRF patients. When gastrointestinal blood loss is suspected, the entire gastroenteric tract should be examined to search for the bleeding sites. Our report also demonstrates that AD could be responsible for gastrointestinal bleeding even in mild CRF and not only, as usually reported, in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Capsular endoscopy offers the unique possibility to determine the bleeding site in the small intestine and appears as an effective diagnostic procedure in CRF patients.