[Iron deficiency anemia and its importance in gastroenterology clinical practise].

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a universal problem involving individuals of all ages and both sexes and is a common cause of referral to medical departments. This anemia is one of the most common types of anemia. IDA impairs growth and intellectual development in children and adolescent. In women IDA is most common in reproductive period because of menstrual and pregnancy iron losses. IDA affects roughly 10-30% of all pregnancies and, among others morbidities, may contribute of developing postpartum depression. Among other adult patient, chronic occult gastrointestinal bleeding is the leading cause of IDA. Approximately, one third of patients with anemia have iron deficiency and up to two thirds of patients with IDA have serious gastrointestinal lesions detected with esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy, including 10-15% with malignancy. However, in practice not all anemic patients undergo appropriate diagnostic tests to detect iron deficiency. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of patients with IDA do not undergo endoscopic evaluation. The approach to its investigation and subsequent therapy depends upon a comprehensive understanding of iron metabolism and heme synthesis. Once diagnosis of iron deficiency or IDA is established, evaluation for the cause of anemia must be appropriate performed and treatment must include corrective replenishment of body stores.

[Upper gastrointestinal bleeding as a surgical complication of primary gastric lymphoma].

Primary gastric lymphomas are of the extranodal non-Hodgkin type. The gastrointestinal tract is the most common site of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas and accounts 30-45% of all extranodal lymphomas. Gastrointestinal lymphomas occurs in the stomach in 55-70% of cases. Primary gastric lymphoma is relatively rare tumor accounting 1-7%, of all gastric malignancies. An increased incidence has been documented recently. The median age of diagnosis is approximately 60 years old, and disease affects an equal number of men and women. The initial symptoms may be vague and nonspecific leading to delayed establishment of diagnosis up to several years. Many patients came down late with advanced disease and complications such as upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Twenty to thirty percent may present with occult bleeding or hematemesis et melena while gastric obstruction and perforation are less common. Gastric bleeding can also occur as a complication of chemotherapy. The incidence of gastric bleeding in patients receiving chemotherapy is up to 11%. In most cases surgical resection is necessary to achieve hemostasis. Given the rate of surgical complications, especially gastric bleeding, there is still an important role for surgeon in the multimodal treatment of patients with primary gastric lymphoma.

[Systemic hemostatic drugs].

Understanding the haemostatic changes is crucial in developing strategies for the management of haemorrhage syndroma. In recent years, the revised model of coagulation ("cell based" model) provided a much more authentic description of the coagulation process. Pharmacological intervention, especially desmopresin, antifibrinolytics (synthetics and nature) and increasingly recombinant activated factor VII are being used in prevention and therapeutically to control bleeding of variety etiologies. Skillfull surgery combined with blood saving methods and careful management of blood coagulation will all help in sucessfull haemorrhage prevention and treatment, and reduce unnecessary blood loss and transfusion requirements and its attendant risks. Among the all avalaible tests, the use of thromboelastography has allowed for more detailed dynamic assessment of the various steps of hemostasis.

Surgical treatment and clinical course of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

In the period between 1 January 1978 and 1 January 2004, 85 patients with hypopharyngeal squamocellular carcinoma were admitted at the Department of Esophagogastric Surgery in Belgrade. Among them, only 46 patients (54.1%) had radical surgical en-block resection and functional neck dissection, and they were included into an historical cohort study. In 40 patients a pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy was performed using for reconstruction, stomach tissue in 29 and colon tissue in 11 patients. Since 1996, in six patients with localized hypopharyngeal carcinoma pharyngolaryngectomy was performed with resection of cervical esophagus and free jejunal graft interposition. The overall incidence of morbidity was 50.0% and the overall mortality rate was 13.0% (6 patients). Mean hospital stay was 35 days (range, 18-78 days). The median survival of patients was 26 months, and overall 5-year survival rate was 26.5%. At present, surgery seems to be the appropriate therapeutic choice for patients with advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma, providing a definitive palliation of dysphagia and relatively good long-term survival. At our Institution, after pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy, reconstructive method of choice is gastric 'pull-up', and the colon is used only when stomach tissue is not available, that is, previous gastric resections, inappropriate blood supply, synchronous gastric carcinoma and so on. Recently, pharyngolaryngectomy and free jejunal transfer has become the standard technique in patients with small carcinomas (up to 3 cm) confined to the hypopharynx in the absence of synchronous esophageal and/or gastric carcinoma.

[Iatrogenic perforations of the esophagus and hypopharynx--5 year experience at the Center for Esophageal Surgery]. / Jatrogene perforacije jednjaka i hipofarinksa--petogodisnje iskustvo Centra za hirurgiju jednjaka.

Iatrogenic perforations of the esophagus and hypopharynx are important problem, due to diagnostic difficulties, controversies about adequate treatment, and high morbidity and mortality rate. Incidence of iatrogenic perforations is from 50 to 75% of all perforations. In the period from April 1999. to April 2004, 15 patients with iatrogenic perforation of the esophagus and hypopharynx were treated at the Department of esophageal surgery, First University Surgical Hospital in Belgrade. In majority of patients iatrogenic perforation occured during endoscopic interventional procedure (endoscopic removal of ingested foreign body--10 pts, endotracheal intubation--2 pts, intraoperative iatrogenic perforation--2 pts, pneumatic dilatation--1 pt). Surgical treatment was performed in 12 (80%) pts and 3 (20%) pts were treated conservatively. Surgical approach was cervicoabdominal, thoracoabdominal and cervicothoracoabdominal in 9.1 and 2 pts, respectively. Among 12 operated pts, primary repair of the esophagus was performed in 5 pts, and esophageal resection or exclusion in 7 pts. Overall mortality rate was 13.3% (2 pts), in surgical group 8.3% (1 pt) and in conservatively treated group 33.3% (1 pt). Iatrogenic perforations of the esophagus and hypopharynx are diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Awareness of the possibility of esophageal perforation during instrumental manipulations and early diagnosis is essential for successful, individually adapted, and in most cases surgical, treatment.