The schedule on which dialysis patients are administered supplemental iron affects their risk of developing serious infections, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Iron administration is often necessary for dialysis patients, many of whom become anemic because of the treatment. Physicians prescribe intravenous iron to correct this problem. This can, however, promote bacterial growth and interfere with immune system processes.
To investigate the relationship between iron administration and infection, researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, analyzed 3 months of data from 117,050 patients on dialysis.
They found that repletion dosing, iron administered in large quantities over a short period of time, was correlated with a much higher risk of serious infection than was maintenance dosing, iron administered in small quantities over longer periods of time.
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