Treatment of Iron Deficiency with or without Anaemia with Intravenous Ferric Carboxymaltose in Gynaecological Practices - A Non-Interventional Study.

Abstract

In this multi-centre, prospective, non-interventional study, the effectiveness and tolerance of ferric carboxymaltose (ferinject®; FCM) was tested through use in standard gynaecological practice. In total, data from 273 patients was evaluated. 193 of these patients displayed iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), and 68 had iron deficiency without anaemia (ID). The reasons for the ID/IDA were hypermenorrhoea (HyM) (n = 170), post-partum condition (PP) (n = 53) or another indication (n = 53). The average age of the patients was 40 years old, with 8 % of them being vegetarians. Half of the patients had already been treated for anaemia, primarily with oral iron products (94 %). The primary, serious accompanying symptoms of anaemia were fatigue (72 %), lack of concentration (42 %), pale mucous membranes (42 %), headache (26 %) and sleep disorders (21 %). Only one patient did not show serious symptoms at the start of the study. The most frequent indications for parenteral therapy were the need for rapid iron substitution to reduce symptoms (> 70 %), followed by the lower effectiveness or intolerance of oral products (42 % each) as well as patients not completing the course of treatment with oral products (12 %). Patient information was collected at both the beginning and the end of the observation period, which lasted 15 weeks on average. FCM was most frequently administered via infusion (92 %; average infusion duration 21 minutes). Seven percent of patients received bolus injections. The average total iron dosage per patient was 788.7 mg (median 550 mg; range: 50-3000 mg); the median individual dosage was 500 mg (range: 50-1000 mg). The total dosage was, in most cases, administered through a single application (range: 1-10). Symptoms, blood values (Hb), iron stores (serum-ferritin [S-ferritin]) and transport iron (transferrin saturation [TSAT]) normalised to a large extent. In all subgroups, 92 % of women displayed a marked improvement in all of their symptoms. The average increase in Hb-value in the group as a whole was statistically significant, increasing from 10.5 to 13.0 g/dl. In the group with anaemia, the value increased from 9.9 to 13.3 g/dl, with 80 % of women reaching normal Hb-values. The average S-ferritin value increased by a statistically significant > 70 µg/L from 17.2 to 88.8 µg/l and the value for the TSAT increased from 16.3 % to 22.8 %. Seven patients reported experiencing side effects. None of the results were severe. Overall, as part of this non-interventional study for everyday routine in a gynaecological practice, a rapid improvement in symptoms accompanied by the rectification of iron deficiency and anaemia was shown with low occurrences of mild undesirable events, and therefore the data obtained from controlled clinical studies on the effectiveness and tolerance of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose could be confirmed.

• Authors: R Herfs, L Fleitmann, I Kocsis
• Journal: Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde (Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd) Vol. 74 Issue 1 Pg. 81-88 (Jan 2014) ISSN: 0016-5751 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 24741123 (Publication Type: Journal Article)