Thalidomide for the treatment of angiodysplasia in a patient with acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage

Gastrointestinal (GI) angiodysplasia is an important and challenging cause of acute GI haemorrhage, particularly in the elderly. We present the case of an 83-year-old woman admitted with acute upper GI bleeding that was refractory to both endoscopic ablation with argon plasma coagulation and gastroduodenal artery embolisation. Administration of thalidomide 100 mg daily after failure of the above therapeutic procedures resulted in cessation of bleeding and avoided the need for further blood transfusion at 6-month follow-up.