The safety of intravenous iron dextran (Dexferrum) during hemodialysis in patients with end stage renal disease.

The National Kidney Foundation recently published guidelines stating that regular use of intravenous iron therapy will prevent iron deficiency and promote better erythropoiesis than oral iron therapy in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who are undergoing hemodialysis. Although intravenous iron dextran has been shown to be clinically effective in maintaining iron stores in such patients, some clinicians are concerned about the incidence of adverse events associated with this mode of iron supplementation. We conducted a retrospective review of adverse events associated with the use of Dexferrum (American Regent Laboratories, Inc., Shirley, NY) in ESRD patients at an outpatient dialysis clinic. During the 6-month study period, only 1 patient out of 62 (1.6%) experienced adverse events (hypotension, chest pain) related to treatment with Dexferrum. No patients developed anaphylactoid reactions.