Objective: Iron deficiency anemia is seen commonly in women of reproductive age and particularly during pregnancy. Current treatment practice with oral iron supplementation is associated with gastroin..
Objective: Iron deficiency anemia is seen commonly in women of reproductive age and particularly during pregnancy. Current treatment practice with oral iron supplementation is associated with gastrointestinal side effects leading to poor compliance. Intravenous dextran is an effective alternative that is underutilized which can lead to better clinical outcomes, reduced risk of blood transfusion as well as improved quality of life. Our objective was to study improvement inquality of life in patients receiving intravenous iron using validated questionnaires. Study Design: A pilot prospective study was performed involving 29 patients with a hemoglobin levels between 8 and 10 g/dL and/or a low ferritin Results: Of 33 patients recruited, 29 received intravenous iron dextran. In 2 patients, the medication had to discontinued due to adverse effect; hypotension and urticaria. Mean basal hemoglobin levels were 8.8 g/dL (range, 7.0-10.3). Hemoglobin normalization (improvement of HgB > 11g/dL) was achieved in 55.5% of the patients. Improvement of more than 1 g/dL was noted in 88% of the patients. The quality-of-life scores correlated with improvement in hemoglobin and were increased in patients who normalized their hemoglobin in 3 months and 6 months. Conclusion: Intravenous iron is an effective and safe alternative for iron deficiency anemia in intolerant patient. Our study aims to analyze the anemia correction with iron treatment is associated with a relevant improvement in the patients' quality of life.
