Treatment of iron deficiency anemia associated with gastrointestinal tract diseases

Table 1 Causes of iron deficiency anemia stemming from the GI tract

Decreased iron uptake	Increased iron loss (bleeding into GI tract)
Celiac sprue	Esophagus (esophagitis and cancer)
Giardiasis	Stomach (ulcer, gastritis, cancer, vascular lesions)
Achlorhydria (due to atrophic gastritis, H. pylori infection…)	Small bowel (vascular lesions)
Gastrojejunostomy and other surgical techniques bypassing the duodenum where iron absorption is maximal	Large bowel (cancer, angioectasias, adenoma, colitis)
Short bowel syndrome

GI: Gastrointestinal; H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori.