Comparison between Oral and Intravenous Iron Supplements in the Management of Anemia in Pregnancy

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Aim: To compare the efficacy of oral and intravenous iron supplements in the management of anemia in pregnancy. Materials and Methods: Antenatal women between 24 to 34 weeks period of gestation (POG) with mild to moderate anemia were included. They were randomly divided into two groups where Group A - supplemented with oral iron (ferrous sulfate 300mg) and Group B - supplemented with intravenous iron sucrose 200mg. Where Intravenous iron sucrose of 200mg of 4 doses 2 weeks apart (i.e. 24 weeks POG, 26 weeks POG, 28 weeks POG, 30 weeks POG) were infused. Whereas oral iron ferrous sulfate 300mg per day (i.e. from 24 weeks POG – 34 weeks POG) in mild to moderate anemia patients were administered. Results: The mean difference of the haemoglobin between before and after administration of the intravenous iron supplements was observed to very high (2.13 g/dl) when compared to the mean difference of the haemoglobin between before and after administration of the oral iron supplements (0.97 g/dl). The mean difference of the ferritin between before and after administration of the intravenous iron supplements was observed to very high (46.9 ?g/L) when compared to the mean difference of the ferritin between the before and after administration of the oral iron supplements (21.24 ?g/L). Conclusion: In this study, we observed an increase in the mean values of haemoglobin and ferritin after the administration of both intravenous and oral iron supplements. When comparing the mean differences of haemoglobin and ferritin of intravenous iron supplements with oral iron supplements, a significant increase in the values of haemoglobin and ferritin was observed among the pregnant women who were administered with intravenous iron supplements when compared to the pregnant women who were administered with oral iron supplements.