Describing and Comparing Patient Factors Associated with Use of Parenteral Iron before and after Implementation of an Order Set for Parenteral Iron (DECODE IRON).

Background: In select clinical scenarios, IV administration of iron is suitable for management of iron deficiency anemia; however, for most patients, oral administration of iron is the mainstay of treatment. At the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, in Red Deer, Alberta, high utilization of IV iron has resulted in limited access to this medication for the treatment of ambulatory patients, as well as significant usage of health care resources.

Objectives: The primary objective was to compare patient characteristics, specifically pretreatment laboratory test results and previous use of oral iron, among those receiving IV iron therapy in an ambulatory setting before and after implementation of an iron sucrose order set. For secondary objectives, the aforementioned groups were compared with regard to meeting the diagnostic criteria for iron deficiency anemia, with or without pretreatment oral iron or blood transfusion, and the dosing characteristics for IV iron.

Methods: A retrospective electronic chart review was performed for ambulatory patients who received IV iron between January 1, 2020, and January 31, 2022.

Results: A total of 436 unique treatment courses were included in the analysis. The following pretreatment laboratory results were observed before and after implementation of the iron sucrose order set: mean hemoglobin 105.8 (standard deviation [SD] 21.9) g/L versus 102.2 (SD 18.5) g/L; mean of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 82.2 (SD 9.4) fL versus 79.2 (SD 8.9) fL; and median ferritin 7 (interquartile range [IQR] 4-12) μg/L versus 6 (IQR 4-11) μg/L. Only the difference in MCV values was statistically significant (p = 0.001).

Conclusions: The implementation of an iron sucrose order set for ambulatory patients did not have a significant effect on pretreatment laboratory parameters among patients for whom IV iron was prescribed. Further stewardship initiatives could be beneficial in improving the appropriateness of IV iron use.