The Effects of Iron Therapy on Blood Transfusion, Length of Intensive Care Stay and Mortality in Patients with Iron Deficiency Anemia in the Intensive Care Unit

Objectives: The most prevalent form of anemia is iron deficiency anemia (IDA). In the intensive care unit (ICU) setting, frequent blood sampling for diagnostic purposes is one of the most important causes of anemia among patients. In our study, we aimed to retrospectively scan and compare patients diagnosed with IDA in our institution’s ICU, with and without iron therapy.
Methods: In this study, patients with IDA who were hospitalized in our ICU for more than 21 days were included. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (patients with iron therapy) and group 2 (patients without iron therapy). Information regarding demographics (age and sex), comorbidities, total volume of blood samples drawn, hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin values, requirement for blood transfusion, length of ICU stay, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, Glasgow coma scale, and mortality rates were recorded.
Results: In this study, 48 patients were analyzed, including 25 (18 women, 7 men) with iron therapy and 23 (13 women, 10 men) without iron therapy. A statistically significant difference was found in the mean blood volume per patient transfused over the 21-day period between the two groups.
Conclusion: We noted that oral iron therapy was effective in reducing blood transfusions in patients with prolonged ICU stays. We believe that studies with larger patient groups are warranted regarding this topic.