[Approach to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic anemia secondary to gastrointestinal diseases].

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia and can cause asthenia, cognitive and functional impairment, and decompensation of underlying diseases. Iron deficiency anemia is not a disease but is the result of a potentially serious medical problem. Consequently, patients should always undergo investigation of the underlying cause. In men and postmenopausal women, the condition is caused by gastrointestinal loss and malabsorption of iron. In this group, recommended procedures are gastroscopy, colonoscopy and serological testing for celiac disease. If the results of these tests are negative, repeat examinations and iron therapy should be considered. In treatment-refractory or recurrent anemia, the small intestine should be investigated. In this case, the procedure of choice is capsule endoscopy. Iron deficiency anemia should always be treated until iron deposits have returned to normal levels. A wide variety of preparations are available, in both oral and parental formulations.