Abstract :
Background: Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy reveals abnormal pathological findings in 55% patients of iron deficiency anemia therefore gastrointestinal pathology should be ruled out iron deficiency anemia not responding to the treatment.
Aim: To determine the role of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and find out the pathological changes which occur in children with iron deficiency anemia (IDA)
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 95 pediatric patients with iron deficiency anemia in the age group between 3 to 17 years who underwent routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
All potential bleeding lesions were identified and biopsy samples were taken from 2nd part of duodenum for histopathological examinations.
Results: The mean age of cases was 7.33.3 years. Endoscopy revealed abnormal finding in 63.1% patients. The gastrointestinal pathologies identified were celiac disease in 22 patients, nonspecific duodenitis in 11 patients, H.Pylori duodenitis in 8 patients, erosive duodenitis in 7 patients and giardiasis in 3 patients.
Conclusion: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy has a definitive role in identifying the underlying cause of iron deficiency anemia in patients not responding to conventional therapy.
Keyword :
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, Duodenal biopsy, Iron deficiency anemia.