New faster, cost effective treatment for iron deficiency anaemia now available

Patients and healthcare professionals will benefit from greater access to an innovative intravenous iron preparation that is cost effective and substantially faster to administer, with the listing of Ferinject® (ferric carboxymaltose) on the Hospital Medicines List for use in DHB Hospitals.

Ferinject®, which can be given within just 15 minutes, will be listed from 1 August.
The new intravenous treatment is used to treat iron deficiency anaemia where oral iron tablets are not tolerated, ineffective or cannot be used. Iron tablets often have significant side effects such as nausea or constipation, making compliance poor.

Iron deficiency is very common, affecting close to 1 in 6 New Zealand women1 and many men. It is associated with anaemia and results in severe fatigue. The condition is particularly prevalent in pregnancy, cancer, digestive problems and chronic blood loss such as from heavy menstrual bleeding.

The major clinical advantages of Ferinject® over current infusions are the faster administration time, 15 minutes, and reduced treatment related adverse events.

MidCentral District Health Board haematologist Dr Elayne Knottenbelt said the treatment and listing as a subsidised DHB Hospital medication allowed significantly shorter admissions and increased capacity to treat more patients.

“The improved safety profile is also very reassuring and makes it more appealing to both patients and prescribing professionals,” Dr Knottenbelt said.

“A single short hospital visit to replace the iron will make a big difference to a patient’s quality of life, while an increased awareness of iron deficiency and efficient replacement of iron will hopefully result in improved wellbeing and a reduction in lost productivity.

Dr Knottenbelt emphasised the extreme importance of investigating and treating the underlying cause of iron deficiency which can be the first sign of a significant disease, such as bowel cancer.

The intravenous treatment will also allow clinicians to treat patients effectively prior to surgery or before giving birth, leading to improved patient outcomes including the potential for a reduction in blood transfusions and ultimately cost savings for the stretched health budget.

Patients with heart failure and renal disease can also benefit significantly from having adequate iron available.

• For additional information on iron deficiency see www.irondeficiency.com.
• Funding in DHB hospitals applies where treatment with oral iron has proven ineffective, or is clinically inappropriate

___________
1 WHO statistics; World Health Organization. United Nations Children’s Fund. United Nations University. Iron deficiency anaemia: assessment, prevention, and control. A guide for programme managers. Geneva: WHO, 2001. http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/en/ida_assessment_prevention_control.