Indicators of Response to Oral Iron Therapy in Children with Iron Deficiency Anemia; A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA), is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world especially in children. It is important to early manage IDA and follow up iron therapy response to minimize later on complications. Purpose: The authors aimed to determine the demographic, clinical and laboratory indicators for the response to oral iron therapy in Egyptian children with iron deficiency anemia. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted at Helwan University Hospital at Badr city, Egypt on 48 Egyptian children with (IDA) aged 1-7 years. Children received oral iron in a daily dose of 6 mg/kg/day elemental iron for 3 months. Children who showed increased hemoglobin level at follow up were included.Complete blood count wasincluded from the patient files and serum ferritin levels before and after iron therapy. Results: Following oral iron therapy, the hemoglobin, mean platelet volume, and ferritin values showed a significant increase, while red cell distribution width showed a significant decrease. Children with range 2-4 weeks of therapy the response was < 1 gm and children with 2-5 weeks range of iron therapy the response was > 1 gm. Conclusions: The study revealed that the longer duration of oral iron therapy was associated with good response.The hemoglobin, mean platelet volume and ferritin values showed a significant increase following oral iron therapy, while red cell distribution width values showed a significant decrease.In our results there was no laboratory parameter can predict the response to oral iron therapy.