Ferric carboxymaltose in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency
Authors
Anker, Stefan D.Comin Colet, Josep
Filippatos, Gerasimos S.
Willenheimer, Ronnie
Dickstein, Kenneth
Drexler, Helmut
Lüscher, Thomas F.
Bart, Boris
Banasiak, Waldemar
Niegowska, Joanna
Kirwan, Bridget-Anne
Mori, Claudio
von Eisenhart Rothe, Barbara
Pocock, Stuart J.
Poole-Wilson, Philip A.
Ponikowski, Piotr
Issue Date
2009-12-17
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Background Iron deficiency may impair aerobic performance. This study aimed to determine whether treatment with intravenous iron (ferric carboxymaltose) would improve symptoms in patients who had heart failure, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, and iron deficiency, either with or without anemia. Methods We enrolled 459 patients with chronic heart failure of New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II or III, a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less (for patients with NYHA class II) or 45% or less (for NYHA class III), iron deficiency (ferritin level <100 μg per liter or between 100 and 299 μg per liter, if the transferrin saturation was <20%), and a hemoglobin level of 95 to 135 g per liter. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive 200 mg of intravenous iron (ferric carboxymaltose) or saline (placebo). The primary end points were the self-reported Patient Global Assessment and NYHA functional class, both at week 24. Secondary end points included the distance walked in 6 minutes and the health-related quality of life. Results Among the patients receiving ferric carboxymaltose, 50% reported being much or moderately improved, as compared with 28% of patients receiving placebo, according to the Patient Global Assessment (odds ratio for improvement, 2.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75 to 3.61). Among the patients assigned to ferric carboxymaltose, 47% had an NYHA functional class I or II at week 24, as compared with 30% of patients assigned to placebo (odds ratio for improvement by one class, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.55 to 3.71). Results were similar in patients with anemia and those without anemia. Significant improvements were seen with ferric carboxymaltose in the distance on the 6-minute walk test and quality-of-life assessments. The rates of death, adverse events, and serious adverse events were similar in the two study groups. Conclusions Treatment with intravenous ferric carboxymaltose in patients with chronic heart failure and iron deficiency, with or without anemia, improves symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life; the side-effect profile is acceptable. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00520780.)Citation
Anker, S.D. et al (2009) 'Ferric Carboxymaltose in Patients with Heart Failure and Iron Deficiency' New England Journal of Medicine 361 (25):2436Publisher
New England Journal of MedicineJournal
New England Journal of MedicinePubMed ID
19920054Additional Links
http://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMoa0908355Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0028-47931533-4406
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1056/NEJMoa0908355