Oral Iron for Anemia: A Review of the Clinical Effectiveness, Cost-effectiveness and Guidelines [Internet]

Oral iron salts such as ferrous fumarate, ferrous gluconate, and ferrous sulfate have been the mainstay of oral iron supplementation because they are inexpensive, effective at restoring iron balance, and have good overall safety and tolerability profile. However, in some patients, absorption of oral iron salts is inadequate, and poor tolerance results in reduced adherence to therapy. Polysaccharide iron complex and heme iron polypeptide products have become available as alternative therapies, offering improved absorption and tolerability profile over the traditional iron salts. However, they are significantly more expensive than iron salts. The aim of this review is to summarize current evidence on the comparative clinical and cost effectiveness of oral and injectable iron supplementation products for iron deficiency anemia (IDA).