Novel Use of Thalidomide in Recurrent Gastrointestinal Tract Bleeding in Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices: A Case Series.
Heart Lung Circ
; 26(10): 1101-1104, 2017 Oct.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28131776
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Bleeding is an important and common complication of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). One of the common causes of gastrointestinal bleeding is arteriovenous malformations. However, the source of bleeding is often hard to identify. Thalidomide is efficacious in treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in non-LVAD patients. We report our experience of the use of thalidomide in the treatment of GI bleeding in four patients with LVAD. METHOD ANDRESULTS:
Four patients who had recurrent GI bleeding from May 2009 to December 2014 were started on thalidomide. All of them responded to treatment and had no further gastrointestinal bleeding while on thalidomide. One patient developed constipation, requiring thalidomide to be stopped. Another patient developed symptomatic neuropathy, that resolved with reduction of dosage.CONCLUSION:
Thalidomide appears safe and efficacious in LVAD patients with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Talidomida
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Coração Auxiliar
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Hemorragia Gastrointestinal
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Cardiomiopatias
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Aged
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article