Pediatric Iron Deficiency Anemia: Its Presentations and Treatments

Abstract

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most prevalent blood disorder among children worldwide. Untreated IDA can lead to devastating health impacts. Oral iron, intravenous iron and blood transfusion are used to treat IDA. This thesis provides comparative evaluations of prevalence, effectiveness and safety of interventions used to treat pediatric IDA. A systematic review (SR) and meta-analysis (MA) was used to synthesize evidence and examine sources of heterogeneity. Next, data from two Canadian pediatric hospitals, was used to explore associations between clinical variables and known biomarkers of IDA and examine their impact on treatment choice. It was found that oral iron is the leading treatment of IDA, while intravenous iron and blood transfusion are reserved for more severe cases. All three treatments were safe and effective. Weak to moderate associations between vital and laboratory markers of IDA were found. Hemoglobin was found to be the dominant biomarker influencing clinical practice in Canadian hospitals.