Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Nov;65(3):223-6.
doi: 10.1002/1096-8652(200011)65:3<223::aid-ajh8>3.0.co;2-9.

Iron deficiency due to excessive therapeutic phlebotomy in hemochromatosis

J C Barton  1 , S S Bottomley
Affiliations
Free article

Iron deficiency due to excessive therapeutic phlebotomy in hemochromatosis

J C Barton et al. Am J Hematol. 2000 Nov.
Free article

Abstract

Thirteen adults (eight men, five women) with hemochromatosis had undergone routine iron depletion therapy but while on maintenance phlebotomies developed iron deficiency which persisted for 25 +/- 13 (mean +/- 1 SD) months before diagnosis. All had symptoms and signs of iron deficiency. Levels of transferrin saturation were 10% +/- 5% (1 SD), and serum ferritin concentrations were 8 +/- 3 ng/mL. Eleven had anemia; eight had hypochromia and microcytosis. Bone marrow specimens obtained in five patients revealed no stainable iron. Medical records indicated that parameters of body iron status were infrequently or incorrectly used for adjusting the frequency of phlebotomies. Two patients developed iron deficiency due to additional blood loss from esophageal varices and bilateral hip replacement, respectively. Ten of the patients were treated with ferrous sulfate, 325 mg daily, for 2-6 weeks when anemia was corrected. In patients who were not given iron, anemia and microcytosis recovered in 8-24 months. We conclude that (i) sustained iron deficiency in hemochromatosis patients should be prevented by monitoring hemoglobin levels and serum ferritin; and (ii) hemoglobin concentrations and values of mean corpuscular hemoglobin may be higher in iron-deficient persons with hemochromatosis than in individuals without hemochromatosis. Symptomatic iron deficiency in hemochromatosis patients may be treated safely with a brief course of ferrous sulfate. Recovery is slower when iron is not given. However, iron supplementation is unnecessary and not recommended for the mild, self-limited anemia and decreased serum iron and ferritin concentrations encountered after initial iron depletion therapy for hemochromatosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources