Oral vitamin B12 therapy supplementation in patients with ileo-colonic resection for Crohn's disease
Abstract
To verify the efficacy and safety of orally administered vitamin B12 in patients after ileocolic resectionresection for Crohn's disease. Methods: We compared the total serum levels of vitamin B12 and its active form in 23 patients with Crohn's disease after ileal resection with low initial cobalamin concentrations after monthly replacement with 19 patients, also with Crohn's disease after ileal resection with low initial cobalamin concentrations, taking oral vitamin B12 replacement for two months.
Results: After 14 days of therapy, both cohorts showed a significant increase in serum levels of total and active forms of vitamin B12. These levels remained stable throughout the duration of oral cyanocobalamin supplementation.
In cohort A (therapy for 30 days), there was again a significant decrease in the levels of both analytes at day D61, whereas in cohort B (with therapy lasting 60 days) there was no significant fluctuation in the levels of either of the measured analytes. In the cohort of patients with two months of oral cyanocobalamin supplementation, significantly higher levels of total vitamin B12, but not its active form, were achieved at D61.
The Spearman correlation coefficient is r = 0.8081 (p = 0.0001), indicating a good correlation between the dynamics of the rise in total and active vitamin B12. Conclusion: Continuous oral administration of vitamin B12 at a dose of 1,000 μg/day is an effective strategy which quickly normalized and maintained vitamin B12 concentration in patients after ileo-caecal resection for Crohn's disease.