Helicobacter pylori infection, a classic but often unrecognized cause of iron deficiency anemia in teenagers

We report a case of a 15-year-old teenager who presented with iron deficiency anemia due to Helicobacter pylori infection. Iron deficiency is frequent in infants and during puberty. H. pylori gastritis is a frequent but underdiagnosed cause of refractory anemia. In the case reported herein, the recurrent character of the patient's anemia raised this diagnosis, which was confirmed by endoscopy. Treatment of the H. pylori infection, associated with iron supplementation, successfully corrected the anemia.