Parenteral iron therapy in chronic kidney disease or chronic heart failure

Abstract Iron deficiency and anaemia occur frequently in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or chronic heart failure (CHF) and are associated with lower quality of life and higher mortality. Treating anaemia with erythropoietic growth factors produces no improvement. In recent years, the focus has therefore shifted to correction of iron deficiency. Chronic inflammation in CKD increases the production of hepcidin, which blocks iron absorption from the intestine and leads to less efficient re-use of iron from the macrophages. In absolute iron deficiency the body's iron stores are depleted, whereas in functional iron deficiency the supply of iron is not sufficient to meet demand from the bone marrow. Normal or high ferritin levels do not exclude iron deficiency at tissue level. The iron saturation fraction is a more useful indicator. Parenteral iron therapy ameliorates in CHF the symptoms of iron deficiency, irrespective of the effect on haemoglobin levels. The long-term effects of intravenous iron on mortality and morbidity are still unknown.