Abstract
Background/Purpose of the Study
In India oral iron tablets for anaemia have been distributed through the health system since many years, but there has been no significant change in the burden of anaemia. The objective of the present study was to capture the existing practices on the use of intravenous iron sucrose (an alternative treatment for anaemia) in the public health system in two states of India (Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh).
Methods
An observational study in the form of a registry was maintained for 3 months at purposively chosen public health facilities in the above-mentioned states of India. Anaemic pregnant women (n = 764) who were given intravenous iron sucrose during the antenatal or post-partum period were included in the registry. Information was collected on severity of anaemia at which intravenous iron sucrose therapy was initiated, the dose and schedule given and any adverse events noted during and immediate post-infusion period.
Results
99 % of the infusions were given as slow infusion over a mean duration of 30 min, diluted with 0.9 % sodium chloride. The mean haemoglobin level at the time of start of intravenous therapy was 8.3 gm/dl. In Uttar Pradesh, 46 % of women received only one dose of iron sucrose in contrast with 15 % in Tamil Nadu.
Conclusions
Although intravenous iron sucrose is commonly used in pregnant anaemic women, standard protocols and guidelines for its usage are lacking. These need to be formulated before scaling it up across public health facilities in India.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge World Health Organisation, India for providing financial support for the conduct of the study. The authors also like to thank all the study participants for their contribution to the research. At last the authors like to acknowledge the contribution of Late Dr P Padmanaban during the conduct of the study.
Compliance with ethical requirements and Conflict of interest
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5). Written informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study. Niveditha Devasenapathy, Ranjana Singh, Premjeeth Moodbidri, Himanshu Bhushan, Sanjay Zodpey and Sutapa Neogi declare that they have no conflict of interest. Dr Sunanda Gupta was working with the funding organization when the present work was done. However, the findings and conclusions of the study are not biased.
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Devasenapathy, N., Singh, R., Moodbidri, P. et al. An Observational Study on the Use of IV Iron Sucrose Among Anaemic Pregnant Women in Government Healthcare Facilities from Two States of India. J Obstet Gynecol India 65, 230–235 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-014-0588-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-014-0588-2