Transient Vitamin B₁₂ Malabsorption In A Patient With Mixed Nutritional Anemia

Abstract

A 47-year-old nonvegan woman presented to my rural family practice with an anemia and was found to be deficient in iron, folate, and vitamin B₁₂. Initial vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption was documented by Schilling test and was reversed by nutritional repletion alone. This case illustrates that simple lack of intrinsic factor is not the only cause of vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption in primary care patients and that inadequate diets may cause significant pathological consequences in ambulatory patients.