| Title | Safety and Efficacy of Total-Dose Infusion of Low Molecular Weight Iron Dextran for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. | | Author(s) | Koutroubakis IE, Oustamanolakis P, Karakoidas C, Mantzaris GJ, Kouroumalis EA | | Institution | Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Heraklion, P.O. Box 1352, 71110, Heraklion, Crete, Greece, ikoutroub@med.uoc.gr. | | Source | Dig Dis Sci 2009 Oct 16. | | Abstract | BACKGROUND: Intravenous iron has been suggested as a safe and effective treatment of anemia complicating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Low molecular weight (LMW) iron dextran has the ability to administer the patient's total iron requirement in a single infusion.
AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the total dose of LMW iron dextran infusion for the treatment of iron deficiency in IBD.
METHODS: Fifty IBD patients (27 female, 35 Crohn's disease, 15 ulcerative colitis) were included in the study. Mean +/- standard deviation (SD) hemoglobin and ferritin levels before the infusion were 9.88 +/- 1.42 g/dl and 13.9 +/- 10.9 ng/ml, respectively. A 25-mg test dose was followed by infusion of the total dose of LMW iron dextran based on the iron deficit. Several clinical and laboratory parameters were measured before and on week 4 after infusion.
RESULTS: Four patients (8%) developed adverse reactions during the test infusion and did not receive the total-dose infusion. Only one patient developed an allergic reaction during the total-dose infusion. In the remaining 45 patients, the mean +/- SD iron dose that was given was 1,075 +/- 269 mg. The mean +/- SD elevation of hematocrit and hemoglobin on week 4 was 4.9 +/- 1.9% and 1.7 +/- 0.8 g/dl, respectively. Hematopoietic response was observed in 23 of 45 patients (51.1%).
CONCLUSION: Total parenteral iron replacement with LMW iron dextran is an easy, safe, and effective alternative method for treating iron deficiency anemia in IBD. Harmless adverse reactions may develop in a minority of patients. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19834803 |
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