ABSTRACT
In a period of 10 years 38 patients received treatment in the clinic for iron deficiency anemia in whom the source of chronic blood loss was revealed in the small intestine. The radionuclide method for detecting concealed blood loss was most informative for the diagnosis (98%) of chronic intestinal hemorrhages, and was particularly important in cases with iron deficiency anemia of unclear genesis. Oral enterography was the most available method and sufficiently informative (32%) in the diagnosis of chronic hemorrhages from the small intestine. In 3-4 day, blood loss of more than 10 ml/24 h from the gastrointestinal tract verified by the radionuclide method but with the source of the bleeding not identified by instrumental methods, the indications for diagnostic laparotomy must be widened for careful examination of the small intestine.
