Treatment of iron deficiency anemia associated with gastrointestinal tract diseases

Table 3 Selected characteristics and dosage guidelines of parenteral iron complexes

	LMWID	Iron gluconate	Iron sucrose	FeCarb
Concentration	50 mg/mL (2 mL vial)	12.5 mg/mL (5 mL ampule)	20 mg/mL (5 mL vial)	50 mg/mL (2 mL vial)
IV injection dose	100 mg over 2-5 min	125 mg over 10 min	100 mg over 5 min	100 mg over 2 min
Direct iron donation to transferrin	1-2	5-6	4-5	1-2
Test dose required	Yes, 25 mg slow IV push	No	No	No
Maximal single dose for IV infusion	Not limited	125	500	1000
Total dose infusion	Yes, in NS over 1-6 h	No	No	No
Pregnancy category	C	B	B	N/A
Life threatening ADEs (per 106 doses)	3.3	0.9	0.6	N/A

LMWID: Low molecular weight iron dextran; IV: Intravenous; ADE: Adverse drug event; NS: Normal saline; N/A: Not available.