Publication:

A prospective study to assess the efficacy and safety of iron sucrose in pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia in a tertiary care hospital

Background Prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is 58% among pregnant women in India. Oral iron therapy is recommended as first-line therapy in mild anemia. Moderate anemia in pregnancy results in high maternal morbidity and mortality. In India, women become pregnant with low iron stores, where oral iron therapy cannot meet the requirement and need parenteral iron therapy. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of iron sucrose complex (ISC) in pregnant women with IDA.

Methods A prospective study was conducted between June 2014 and June 2015 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Bangalore medical college and research institute. 60 pregnant women having hemoglobin (Hb) between 7 and 9 g/dl with diagnosed IDA were given intravenous ISC in a dose of 200 mg on alternate days after calculating the dose requirement. The efficacy of the therapy was assessed by hematological parameters measured at 4 weeks and 8 weeks of treatment. To assess the safety, adverse drug effects were recorded.

Results The mean Hb increased from 8.02±0.56 to 11.38±0.5 g% (p<0.0001) after eight weeks of therapy. There was a significant rise in serum ferritin levels (from 15.12±1.8 to 31.4±4.9 µg/l) (p<0.0001) at the end of the study. Other parameters including mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb, mean corpuscular Hb concentration, and serum reticulocyte count were also improved significantly. There were no allergic reactions.

Conclusion Parenteral iron therapy was effective in increasing Hb, serum ferritin, and other hematological parameters in pregnant women with moderate anemia. Intravenous iron sucrose complex can be used in tertiary care hospitals where it can replace conventional parenteral iron therapy due to injection-related side effects.