2019 Volume 94 Issue 1 Pages 84-86
A 65-year-old male visited a local physician due to shortness of breath on exertion. He was found to have iron-deficiency anemia, but esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy identified no bleeding source. The patient was referred to our hospital with suspected small intestinal hemorrhage. Small intestinal capsule endoscopy found no hemorrhagic lesion in the small intestine but identified angiectasia and fresh blood in the cecum, and he was diagnosed as having gastrointestinal bleeding caused by cecal angiectasia. Endoscopic clipping of the angiectasia was performed. After this procedure, his anemia improved. Angiectasia requires endoscopic treatment if it causes hemorrhage. The incidence of overt bleeding due to angiectasia identified during colonoscopy ranges from as low as 1.2 to 1.9%. Small intestinal capsule endoscopy was useful for excluding small intestinal hemorrhage and identifying overt bleeding caused by angiectasia in this patient.
