Treatment of iron deficiency, with or without anaemia, through inravenous (IV) iron is recommended if oral iron is not effective or prompt correction of iron deficiency is needed.
The latest generations of IV iron (such as iron carboxymaltose or iron isomaltoside), are effective forms of treatment of iron deficiency and usually improve symptoms in less than a week.
Although the risk of serious adverse side effects is low, IV iron should be administered in a monitored setting by trained medical staff.
The standard dose given at The Iron Suites Medical Centre is 500mg iron. This is usually administered as a slow bolus injection allowing our qualified medical staff to continuously monitor our patients closely during the procedure. When considering different healthcare providers that administer iron infusions, we recommend you ask which iron they are using and check what dosage will be given (as you will usually need at least 500mg). The older generation of IV irons deliver 100-200mg with each dose so multiple sessions will be required to achieve iron repletion.
From a calculation perspective, an increase in Haemoglobin (Hb) by 1 point (i.e., from 11 to 12) requires ~200mg iron whilst an increase by 10 points in ferritin (i.e., from 10 to 20) requires ~80mg iron. It is important to note that the human body will preferentially use the iron administered to replenish red blood cells (i.e., increasing Hb) and correct anaemia, before replenishing the body’s iron stores (ferritin).
At The Iron Suites Medical Centre, we not only aim to correct any existing iron deficiency and accompanying anaemia, but our resident doctor will also conduct a thorough consultation with you to illicit the underlying cause for your iron deficiency. After a discussion with you, he will develop mutually agreed management plans that will address your root cause and minimise the chance of iron deficiency reoccurring.
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