Abstract

Background: Anemia is one of the major public health problems in the developing countries. More than 70% of pregnant womeninSoutheastAsianregionhavenutritionalanemia,whichaffectsboththemotherandthenewbornandsubsequent child and later adult.
Objective: To evaluate the response and effect of parenteral iron sucrose complex therapy in iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Material andMethods: A prospective observational study was conducted at VS General Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, from September 2009 to November 2011. A total of 75 Antenatal women, between 26 and 32 weeks of pregnancy with hemoglobin level between 5–9 g%, were selected for study by purposive sampling. They were given intravenous iron sucrose complex in a dose of 200 mg (2 ampoules of 5 ml each) in 100 mL normal saline for 15–20 minutes, on alternate day. Repeat complete blood count was done after 6 weeks.
Results: Of 75 women, 36 (48%) were in age group of 20–24 years and 49 (65.2%) were 27–29 weeks pregnant. The ± ± mean hemoglobin level increased from 7.8 0.61 to 10.1 0.73 g% (po0.001) after 6 weeks of therapy. There was ± ± significantriseinmeancorpuscularvolumelevels(from67.8 5.0to79.2 2.3fL; po0.001).91%ofpatientstreatedfor anemia delivered at full term, either vaginally (65.33%) or by lower segment cesarean section (25.3%). Most of the deliveredbabies(80%)hadbirthweightofmorethan2.5kg.Nomajorsideeffectsoranaphylacticreactionswereobserved in the women during the study period. Conclusion: Parenteral iron therapy was effective in increasing hemoglobin levels and other hematological parameters in pregnant women with moderate-to-severe anemia. If used in time, this treatment will certainly help to reduce the risk of maternal and fetal complications as well as to reduce the risk of blood transfusion during peripartum period.