Anemia and digestive diseases： An update for the clinician

Too often anemia is considered a rare or unimportant manifestation in inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）. However, over the last 10 years a number of studies have been conducted and the most relevant conclusions obtained are： （1） anemia is quite common in IBD; （2） although in many cases anemia parallels the clinical activity of the disease, many patients in remission have anemia, and iron, vitamin B12 and/or folic acid deficiency; （3） anemia, and also iron deficiency without anemia, have important consequences in the clinical status and quality of life of the patient; （4） oral iron can lead to gastrointestinal intolerance and failure of treatment; （5） intravenous iron is an effective and safe way to treat iron deficiency; （6） erythropoietin is needed in a significant number of cases to achieve normal hemoglobin levels. Thus, the clinician caring for IBD patients should have a comprehensive knowledge of anemia, and apply recently published guidelines in clinical practice.

Anemia and inflammatory bowel diseases

Anemia and iron deficiency are so common in digestive diseases that often are underestimated and undertreated. Our goal is to review from classification to treatment of the diverse types of anemias in different digestive diseases to update our knowledge on diagnosis and treatment. With the goal of improving the prognosis and quality of life of digestive diseases patients, we will review current transfusion, intravenous iron, and erythropoietin roles in the treatment of anemia.