Comparison of Ferrous Sulfate, Polymaltose Complex and Iron-zinc in Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron deficiency (ID) is the most common cause of the anemia throughout the world, with almost half of the population in developing countries suffering from ID. Children with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) may have functional consequences including impaired motor and physical growth. In the case of IDA, the underlying cause should be identified and treated. Iron supplementation remains an important strategy for the prevention and treatment of IDA and can produce substantial improvements in the functional performance of iron deficient individuals.

The iron-containing preparations available on the market vary widely in dosage, salt, and chemical state of iron (ferrous or ferric form). Current treatment strategy for IDA involves the oral use of Fe2+ salts (Fe SO4) and Fe3+ polymaltose complexes (FeOH3). Most of these preparations vary in their bioavailability, efficacy, side effects, and cost. Animal studies have not shown any significant difference in their oral bioavailability. However, in clinical practice, bivalent iron salts such as ferrous sulfate (Fe-S), ferrous gluconate, and ferrous fumarate are more widely used and are preferred over ferric iron preparations. Fe-S preparations usually present good bioavailability (between 10 and 15 %), while bioavailability of ferric iron preparations is 3 to 4 times less than that of conventional Fe-S. This is due to the extremely poor solubility of ferric iron in alkaline media and the fact that ferric iron needs to be transformed into ferrous iron before being absorbed. For this reason, among ferrous preparations, Fe-S remains the established and the standard treatment of ID due to its acceptable tolerability, high effectiveness, and low cost. The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of the different oral iron preparations in children with IDA.