The new study showed that intravenous drip of ferric carboxymaltose works faster and better than iron tablets to be swallowed for anaemia—and it does not have as many side effects as the tablet.
The findings were published in Lancet Global Health in a paper titled “Intravenous versus oral iron for anaemia among pregnant Nigerian women (IVON): An example concerns ‘an open label randomised controlled trial’. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia every four out of ten pregnant women are anaemic.
A significant percentage of women in Nigeria remain anaemic, and continue to deliver with anaemic condition even where they have taken iron tablets for preventive purposes during pregnancy.
Iron preparations that can be administered through drip for treatment in Nigeria like iron dextran comes with very high severe side effects compared to iron sucrose which requires repeat dosing. Due to such problems, there is a need to come up with an effective and safer aspect to overcome them.
Four clinical researchers in a study ending recently, used IVON TRIAL, to try out a newly introduced medicine for anaemia (low blood level), known as ferric carboxymaltose, in Nigeria and most of the sub region of SSA. Iron in the form of ferric carboxymaltose once in pregnancy through a vein (drip) raises blood level more in four weeks than when one takes iron tablets thrice daily.
The drip iron also replenishes low body iron better as compared to the iron tablets. That is the side effects of the drip iron are similar to when giving the babies iron tablets without any harm caused on the babies.
These findings are encouraging because pregnant women usually refuse to take new medicines due to risk to the baby. We now have reasons to believe that adoption of this new drip iron (ferric carboxymaltose) in areas which many pregnant women suffer from anaemia such as Africa will be a useful step in contributing to reduction in the proportion of pregnant women who suffer from this disease and its effects,” avows Ochuwa A. Babah.
‘It was noted that the pregnant women were willing to accept the drip iron during pregnancy accentuated by support from their families; Likewise, the health care workers were ready to administer the drip iron but called for an increase in the staff strength and possibly medicine subsidy. We used the clinical trial to prove that the drip iron is effective and safe hence; we are already in touch with the Federal Ministry of health, Nigeria how we could have it included in the list.
Reference:
Intravenous versus oral iron for anaemia among pregnant Nigerian women (IVON): an open label randomised controlled trial, The Lancet Global Health (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00239-0.
