Understanding intravenous iron ordering practices for inpatients and outpatients at a large academic institution

Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) affects billions of individuals worldwide and can result in decreased quality of life, epithelial tissue injury, fatigue and decreased cognitive function. Treatment includes identifying etiology and iron repletion. Intravenous iron is considered in patients refractory to oral iron supplementation. Though randomized control trials and guideline are beginning to emerge for certain populations, there remains of paucity of evidence around IV iron use in everyday practice. A retrospective analysis of IV iron practice across a large academic institute was conducted to explore patterns of use. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all IV orders between September 1 2010 to September 3