Iron deficiency therapy in pregnant women: advantages and new possibilities of iron carboxymaltose

Abstract

Introduction. Impact of iron deficiency on pregnancy outcomes appears an urgent issue despite generally accepted standards of therapy. Iron needs increase during pregnancy and manifestations of its deficiency reduce QoL in pregnant women and worsen newborn health. Ferric carboxymaltose helps overcome iron deficiency in a quick and efficient manner from the 2nd trimester.Aim. To analyse the results of ferric carboxymaltose therapy of iron deficiency conditions in pregnant women.Materials and methods. In this article we presented our own experience in providing ferric carboxymaltose therapy to treat iron deficiency in 152 pregnant women from the 2nd trimester.Results and discussion. Correction of anaemic syndrome was observed in more than 73.3% (up to 93.3% depending on the severity of primary anaemia) as early as the first week after administration of ferric carboxymaltose. Haemoglobin and ferritin levels at 3 week post-infusion were significantly higher than pre-infusion levels (p < 0.001). Improvement of haemoglobin levels at 6 weeks after initiation of therapy was achieved in all women with mild anaemia and in 98.5% of women with severe anaemia. No definite severe hypersensitivity reactions were detected. The overall incidence of side effects was 10.5%, with headache being the most frequently reported type (7.9%). All pregnancies resulted in a live birth without malformations; the rate of preterm birth was 9.5%.Conclusion. Ferric carboxymaltose is an effective drug to quickly correct iron deficiency in pregnant women with a minimum number of adverse reactions and without negative impact on newborn health.