Researchers found that a medicine called ferric carboxymaltose given in drip through the vein works faster and better than an iron tablet taken by mouth for the treatment of anemia—and it is as safe as the tablet. The findings were published in Lancet Global Health in a paper titled "Intravenous versus oral iron for anemia among pregnant Nigerian women (IVON): an open label randomised controlled trial." Anemia (low blood level) is a common cause of ill-health or death in mothers and their babies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia where more than four out of 10 pregnant women have the condition.
A sizable proportion of pregnant women in Nigeria proceed to give birth while still anemic despite taking iron tablets for prevention during pregnancy. Some reasons for this are that some women do not tolerate the tablets because of side effects like diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, or they forget to take the tablets. Available iron preparations given through drip in Nigeria like iron dextran have been associated with high risk of severe side effects, while iron sucrose needs repeat dosing.
There is a need for an effective and safer alternative to overcome these problems. A team of researchers in a recently concluded clinical trial, called the IVON TRIAL, tested a medicine for treating anemia (low blood level), called ferric carboxymaltose, which is new in Nigeria and most of sub-Saharan Africa. They compared the effectiveness and safety of this medicine with that of.