Oral Vitamin B12 Administration for Vitamin B12 Deficiency After Total Gastrectomy

Summary

Pernicious anemia develops in 50% of total gastrectomized due to gastric cancer patients. Lack of intrinsic factor, which is secreted by parietal cell from stomach wall causes deficiency of cobalamin, which, in final, causes pernicious anemia. Thus, patients who had undergone total gastrectomy needs to be provided externally with cobalamin. Until now, intramuscular injection of cyanocobalamin has been the choice of treatment for cobalamin deficiency, but it has demerits in that it causes discomfort of coming to the hospital to get an injection, and in its high costs. However, in pernicious anemia in old age and absorption disorder patients, it has been reported that oral administration of cobalamin had effect of elevating serum vitamin B12. Thus, this study was designed to prove the effect of oral administration of vitamin B12 in total gastrectomized patients with cobalamin deficiency.

Timeline

Start

2008-04

Primary completion

2008-09

Completion

2008-11

Publications

• Background Bernard M, Babior H., Franklin Bunn. Megaloblastic anemias. In: Dennis LK, Anthony SF, Eugine B, Stephen LH, Dan LL, J.Larry J. editors. Harrison's Principles of internal medicine. 16th ed. New York: Mcgraw-Hill companies; 2005. p.601-7.
• Background Tai Il Seo, Sung Joon Kwon:A Study for Incidence and Treatment of Vitamin B12 Deficiency after Total Gastrectomy. J Korean Surg Soc 2003;64:206-11.(In Korean)
• Background van Walraven C, Austin P, Naylor CD. Vitamin B12 injections versus oral supplements. How much money could be saved by switching from injections to pills? Can Fam Physician. 2001 Jan;47:79-86.
• Background Oh R, Brown DL. Vitamin B12 deficiency. Am Fam Physician. 2003 Mar 1;67(5):979-86.
• Background Adachi S, Kawamoto T, Otsuka M, Todoroki T, Fukao K. Enteral vitamin B12 supplements reverse postgastrectomy B12 deficiency. Ann Surg. 2000 Aug;232(2):199-201. doi: 10.1097/00000658-200008000-00008.
• Background Hyun Dong Chae, Ki Ho Park. Vitamin B12 Deficiency after a Total Gastrectomy in Patients with Gastric Cancer. Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2006;6(1):6-10.(In Korean)

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