Iron deficiency anaemia: Pathophysiology, assessment, practical management
Abstract
The WHO has recognised iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) as the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, with 30% of the population being affected with this condition. Although the most common causes of IDA are gastrointestinal bleeding and menstruation in women, decreased dietary iron and decreased iron absorption are also culpable causes. Patients with IDA should be treated with the aim of replenishing iron stores and returning the haemoglobin to a normal level. This has shown to improve quality of life, morbidity, prognosis in chronic disease and outcomes in pregnancy. Iron deficiency occurs in many chronic inflammatory conditions, including congestive cardiac failure, chronic kidney disease and inflammatory bowel disease. This article will provide an updated overview on diagnosis and management of IDA in patients with chronic conditions, preoperative and in pregnancy. We will discuss the benefits and limitations of oral versus intravenous iron replacement in each cohort, with an overview on cost analysis between the different iron formulations currently on the market.Citation
Kumar, A., Sharma, E., Marley, A., Samaan, M.A. and Brookes, M.J. (2022) Iron deficiency anaemia: pathophysiology, assessment, practical management. BMJ Open Gastroenterology, 9:e000759. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000759Publisher
BMJJournal
BMJ Open GastroenterologyPubMed ID
34996762 (pubmed)Type
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
© 2022 The Authors. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://bmjopengastro.bmj.com/content/9/1/e000759ISSN
2054-4774EISSN
2054-4774ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000759
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Licence for published version: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Related articles
- Iron deficiency anaemia: pathophysiology, assessment, practical management.
- Authors: Kumar A, Sharma E, Marley A, Samaan MA, Brookes MJ
- Issue date: 2022 Jan
- Pathophysiology and management of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy: a review.
- Authors: Kirthan JPA, Somannavar MS
- Issue date: 2024 Aug
- Guidelines for the management of iron deficiency anaemia.
- Authors: Goddard AF, James MW, McIntyre AS, Scott BB, British Society of Gastroenterology
- Issue date: 2011 Oct
- Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.
- Authors: Crider K, Williams J, Qi YP, Gutman J, Yeung L, Mai C, Finkelstain J, Mehta S, Pons-Duran C, Menéndez C, Moraleda C, Rogers L, Daniels K, Green P
- Issue date: 2022 Feb 1