INTRAVENOUS IRON RAPIDLY TREATS IRON-DEFICIENCY ANEMIA OF PREGNANCY

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 23 - For women with iron deficiency anemia of pregnancy requiring treatment, parenterally administered iron increases hemoglobin and restores iron stores faster and more effectively than orally administered iron, according to results of a randomized open-label study.

In the study, Turkish investigators treated 90 pregnant women with hemoglobin levels between 8 and 10.5 g/dL and ferritin values less than 13 micrograms/L with either oral iron polymaltose complex (300 mg elemental iron per day) or IV iron sucrose. The IV dose was based on pre-pregnancy weight and actual hemoglobin level.

"The mean hemoglobin and ferritin levels throughout the treatment were significantly higher in the intravenously administered iron group than in the orally administered iron group," report Dr. Ragip Atakan Al and colleagues from the Ankara Etlik Maternity and Women's Health Teaching Hospital, in the December issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The increase in hemoglobin concentration was significantly faster in the IV group compared with the oral group and a significantly greater number of women in the IV group achieved the hemoglobin target at the fourth week and at delivery.

Both treatments were well tolerated with no serious adverse drug reactions reported.

Because of its general effectiveness, safety, and low cost, oral iron replacement is the first choice of treatment for iron deficiency anemia, Dr. Al and colleagues acknowledge in their report. "However, it seems that intravenous iron sucrose is a safe and effective alternative to oral iron in treatment of iron deficiency anemia of pregnancy," they state.

IV iron "restores blood stores more rapidly and a prompt increase in hemoglobin may be achieved," they point out. Moreover, it may reduce the need for blood transfusion in pregnant women who have severe anemia near term.

The researchers conclude, therefore, that intravenously administered iron "may be considered an alternative to oral iron in the treatment of pregnant women with severe iron deficiency anemia during the third trimester."