Thalidomide for Recurrent Small Intestinal Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Small intestinal angiodysplasia (SIA) accounts for 5 to 10% of gastrointestinal bleeds and can be managed via blood transfusions, pharmacological therapies (e.g. iron supplementation, octreotide, Bevacizumab, and other antifibrinolytic agents), and invasive interventions (e.g. endoscopic ablation, angiographic embolization, or surgical resection). Thalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug that down-regulates vascular endothelial growth factor and has been used to treat SIA, although its evidence in this setting is limited to observational and open-label trials.

Source: Gastroenterology - February 17, 2024 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Niranjani Venkateswaran Tags: Gastro Digest Source Type: research