Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica 2020 Dec 03

DOI: 10.23736/S1121-421X.20.02819-6

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Safety profile of intravenous iron in inflammatory bowel disease: an up-to-date overview

Rocco SPAGNUOLO ¹, Ludovico ABENAVOLI ² ✉, Tiziana LARUSSA ², Chiara IANNELLI ², Rinaldo PELLICANO ³, Sharmila FAGOONEE ⁴, Patrizia DOLDO ¹, Francesco LUZZA ²

¹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy; ² Department of Health Sciences, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy; ³ Unit of Gastroenterology, Molinette Hospital, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy; ⁴ Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Molecular Biotechnology Center, Turin, Italy

Up to 30-70% of patients may experience mild and moderate side effects during iron therapy and this is often associated with a poor adherence to therapy. Anemia is frequent in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), due to both iron deficiency and chronic inflammation, therefore iron supplementation is frequently needed. Considering that gastrointestinal disorders are the most common side effects with oral iron, in IBD patients intravenous administration must be preferred. Although intravenous iron supplementation remains the most effective therapy of IBD-associated iron deficiency anemia, the perception of risk related to intravenous administration by clinicians could limit this successful strategy. In this narrative review we provide an up-to-date on the safety of the different iron formulations for intravenous administration, by reporting the most recent studies in IBD patients.

KEY WORDS: Ferric compounds; Anemia; Infusion site adverse reaction; Anaphylactic reaction; Infection