Indirect comparison between ferric carboxymaltose and oral iron replacement in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a network meta-analysis

Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2021 Mar 31. doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2021.1703. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTreatment of iron deficiency (ID) in patients with heart failure (HF) has improved symptoms, quality of life, exercise capacity and has reduced hospitalizations in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses. Intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) provided convincing results in this field, while oral iron supplementation failed. However, FCM and oral iron were compared to placebo, and a comparison between the two strategies is still lacking. We aimed to fill this gap of knowledge with an indirect comparison between them by means of a network meta-analysis of RCTs. Five studies measuring exercise capacity (i.e. 6-minute walking test) and quality of life (i.e. Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire) were eligible to be included in our review. Given the limitations of a network meta-analysis, our findings support the better efficacy of FCM than oral iron as regards exercise capacity, with a trend towards an improvement in quality of life, suggesting that FCM seems to be strategy of choice to correct ID in HF patients.PMID:33794590 | DOI:10.4081/monaldi.2021.1703
Source: Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Source Type: research