Intravenous iron in a primary-care clinic

The preferable route of iron delivery for most iron-deficient patients is oral. Parenteral iron therapy is used in patients who cannot tolerate oral iron or in cases in which oral iron is not sufficiently effective. The most frequent indications for parenteral iron therapy are unbearable gastrointestinal side effects induced by oral iron itself, worsening of inflammatory bowel disease symptoms, insufficient intestinal absorption, renal failure-caused anemia that is treated with erythropoietin, and unresolved ongoing bleeding, which would cause the acceptable oral doses of iron therapy to be exceeded. The serious adverse effects of iron dextran that was used in the past could explain the reluctance of medical personnel to prescribe this effective treatment. Patients with iron deficiency anemia were treated with intravenous iron in a primary care clinic. The iron gluconate was given in a dosage of 62.5 mg diluted in 150 mL of normal saline and was infused intravenously over 30 min, while iron sucrose was given in a dosage of 100 mg diluted in the same volume of normal saline and given at the same rate. In total, 724 infusions were administered to 57 patients. Iron sucrose was used in 628 infusions, and iron gluconate was used in the remaining 96. The frequency of the infusion treatments depended on the underlying disease and ranged from three times a week to once a month. Adverse effects were seldom observed and were minor in patients receiving iron gluconate, and were not registered at all in patients treated with iron sucrose. Two cases of flushing with paresthesias occurred. Slowing the infusion rate successfully eliminated these side effects. One case of hypotension was treated successfully with 500 cc of normal saline infusion. One case of dropout occurred, due to the patient's refusal to cooperate. No anaphylactic reactions were observed. Iron gluconate and iron sucrose are effective and safe for use in primary care clinics. The risk of adverse effects is low.