Safety and efficacy of intravenous iron therapy in reducing blood transfusion

A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the safety and effectiveness of intravenous iron therapy in reducing the need for blood transfusions.

Read the full research online: bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f4822 Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells and is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. Though allogeneic red blood cell transfusion might be lifesaving for the management of acute severe blood loss, there are increasing concerns about associated serious adverse events, costs, and scarcity. Safe and effective strategies to reduce such transfusions are urgently needed. Researchers from the University of Western Australia set out to find out how safe and effective these intravenous iron infusions are. They carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, and found that intravenous iron therapy is effective in increasing haemoglobin concentration and reducing the risk of allogeneic red blood cell transfusion and could have broad applicability to a range of acute care settings. This potential benefit is counterbalanced by a potential increased risk of infection.