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Risk of Bacterial Infection in Patients Under Intravenous Iron Therapy: Dose Versus Length of Treatment
Author(s) -
Canziani Maria Eugênia F.,
Yumiya Suely T.,
Rangel Erika B.,
Manfredi Silvia R.,
Neto Miguel Cendoroglo,
Draibe Sergio A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
artificial organs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1525-1594
pISSN - 0160-564X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1594.2001.06894.x
Subject(s) - medicine , transferrin saturation , incidence (geometry) , gastroenterology , transferrin , intravenous therapy , surgery , iron deficiency , anemia , physics , optics
Some studies have suggested that intravenous iron therapy may be associated with an increased risk of infection. We analyzed the incidence of bacterial infection in 111 hemodialysis patients. Group 1 (n = 39, transferrin saturation <20%) received 10 doses of 100 mg of intravenous iron saccharate, 3 doses per week (28 treatment days); Group 2 (n = 13, transferrin saturation <20%) received 20 doses, 3 doses per week (70 treatment days); and Group 3 (n = 59, transferrin saturation 20–50%) received 10 doses, 1 dose per week (70 treatment days). The follow‐up was 150 days for all groups, and all infectious episodes were recorded. Pulmonary infection was the most frequent event observed in all of the groups. In an incidence‐density analysis, Group 2, which received a total of 20 doses, presented a significantly higher incidence of infection than Group 3, which received only 10 doses over the same period (0.13 versus 0.06 infections per patient per month, p = 0.04). No difference was observed between Groups 1 and 2 suggesting that the risk of infection during iron therapy is dose dependent rather than time length dependent.