The comparison between the efficacy of intravenous and oral iron for hemodialysis patients

Objective Iron deficiency is common in hemodialysis patients suffered from chronic renal failure(CRF). It caused anemia and influenced the efficiency of eythropoietin. Hemodialysis patients were traditionally treated with oral iron, because of the gastrointestinal side effects, they were now advised to be supplied with intravenous iron.Methods Twenty-four hemodialysis patients were studied, They were given oral iron(Ferrous succinate, namely SuLiFei) firstly and then intravenous iron(iron dextran,namely Cosmofer). Iron deficiency, improvement, result and side effect were monitored. The oral dosage of Ferrous succinate was 200mg dose, 3 times a day for 2 month. After washing out for 2 months. Then these patients were givenintravenous iron dextran with a dosage of 100mg twice a week for 5 weeks. During the treatment、Hemoglobin(Hb)、Hematocrit (Hct)、serum ferritin(SF) and trasferrin saturation (TSAT) were monitored. Results The efficacy of oral iron is 21% which can maintain iron balance for only a short period of time with gastrointestinal side effects(10 out of 24 patient, 41.67%). The efficacy of intravenous iron is 70.8% which can maintain longer iron balance minimal side effects(only 1 out of 24 have gastrointestinal side effect, 0.04%; one case of slight courbature, 0.04%). Conclusion Intravenous iron supplement is better than oral iron.