Iron- Deficiency in Pregnancy: Our Experience in Intravenous Iron Treatment with Ferric Carboxymaltose, Iron Sucrose and Ferric Hydroxid Dextran Complex

Abstract

Anemia is one of the most prevalent nutritional deficiency problems affecting pregnant women. The high prevalence of iron and other micronutrient deficiencies among women during pregnancy in developing countries is of concern and maternal anemia is still a cause of considerable perinatal morbidity and mortality. Severely anemic pregnant women may require blood transfusion, which is not always feasible in under- resourced settings, and it may even carry some risks for the woman. To avoid this, intravenous preparations are used in the management of moderate iron- deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Our data confirmed that intravenous administration elevated the hemoglobin and they were well tolerable. Iron sucrose is the preferred and it has demonstrated a high success rate. Recently, ferric carboxymaltose and ferric hydroxide dextran complex take place in the treatment of iron- deficiency anemia in pregnancy. There are no investigations in Bulgaria that compared the effectiveness of the three intravenous preparations for treatment of moderate iron- deficiency anemia during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.