Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and Turner syndrome

Abstract

Gastrointestinal bleeding in individuals with Turner syndrome is relatively rare and there have been only a handful of reported cases in the literature. Here, we present two patients with Turner syndrome who were evaluated for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Our first patient presented with iron deficiency anemia and the work-up for a possible gastrointestinal bleed was pertinent only for polyps and a non-bleeding vein in the colon seen on colonoscopy. Our second patient had a history of unexplained recurrent melena and iron deficiency anemia, with previously normal esophagogastroduodenoscopies, colonoscopies and a Meckel's diverticulum scan. Both patients were subsequently diagnosed with gastrointestinal vascular malformations via capsule endoscopy.

Keywords: Turner syndrome; endoscopy; gastrointestinal; hemorrhage.