Edward Litton E., Xiao J., Kwok H. BMJ 2013;347:f4822
"What is already known on this topic
Intravenous iron therapy is effective at increasing haemoglobin concentration in patients with iron deficiency anaemia
What this study adds
Intravenous iron therapy can effectively reduce the need for red blood cell transfusion across a range of acute care settings
The benefit of intravenous iron in increasing haemoglobin concentration was seen when compared with both oral iron and no iron supplementation and was more effective when used with erythroid stimulating agents and in patients with lower baseline plasma ferritin concentrations Intravenous iron therapy was associated with an increased risk of infection"