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Intravenous cyclophosphamide as a therapeutic option for severe refractory gastric antral vascular ectasia in systemic sclerosis
Author(s) -
Papachristos D. A.,
Nikpour M.,
Hair C.,
Stevens W. M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.12883
Subject(s) - gastric antral vascular ectasia , medicine , refractory (planetary science) , cyclophosphamide , scleroderma (fungus) , upper gastrointestinal bleeding , gastroenterology , surgery , chemotherapy , endoscopy , pathology , physics , argon plasma coagulation , astrobiology , inoculation
Gastric antral vascular ectasia ( GAVE ) is a rare but important cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. It is commonly associated with autoimmune conditions such as systemic sclerosis, and standard treatment involves both supportive measures, as well as endoscopic interventional therapies. While the current therapies are effective for most patients, a few patients develop severe and refractory bleeding. Herein we report two cases of refractory GAVE in patients with diffuse scleroderma, which improved significantly after the administration of intravenous cyclophosphamide. One of these cases is, to our knowledge, the first reported case of cyclophosphamide being used specifically for the treatment of refractory GAVE .