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Observational Study
. 2024 May 1;36(5):563-570.
doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000002740. Epub 2024 Mar 1.

Iron therapy supplementation in inflammatory bowel disease patients with iron deficiency anemia: findings from a real-world analysis in Italy

Gionata Fiorino  1   2 , Jean-Frederic Colombel  3 , Kostas Katsanos  4 , Fermín Mearin  5 , Jürgen Stein  6 , Margherita Andretta  7 , Stefania Antonacci  8 , Loredana Arenare  9 , Rita Citraro  10 , Stefania Dell'Orco  11 , Luca Degli Esposti  12 , Antonio Ramirez de Arellano Serna  13 , Neige Teldja Morin  13 , Ioannis E Koutroubakis  14
Affiliations
Observational Study

Iron therapy supplementation in inflammatory bowel disease patients with iron deficiency anemia: findings from a real-world analysis in Italy

Gionata Fiorino et al. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. .

Abstract

Background: This real-world analysis evaluated iron therapy supplementation in inflammatory bowel disease patients with iron-deficiency anemia, considering disease progression and healthcare resource consumption.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted using administrative databases of a pool of Italian healthcare entities, covering about 9.3 million beneficiaries. Between January 2010 and September 2017, adult patients were enrolled in the presence of either hospitalization or active exemption code for ulcerative colitis/Crohn's disease, or one vedolizumab prescription. Iron-deficiency anemia was identified by at least one prescription for iron and/or hospitalization for iron-deficiency anemia and/or blood transfusion (proxy of diagnosis). Patients were divided in untreated and iron-treated during 12-month follow-up and analyzed before and after propensity score matching. Disease progression, was evaluated through inflammatory bowel disease-related hospitalizations and surgeries, and healthcare resource utilization was assessed.

Results: Overall, 1753 patients were included, 1077 (61.4%) treated with iron therapy and 676 (38.6%) untreated. After propensity score matching, 655 patients were included in each group. In unbalanced cohorts, disease progression was significantly reduced in patients receiving iron therapy compared to the untreated (11.0% vs. 15.7%, P < 0.01), and this trend was maintained also after applying propensity score matching. The overall mean cost/patient was significantly lower in iron-treated than untreated (4643€ vs. 6391€, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: The findings of this real-world analysis suggest that iron therapy was associated with significant benefits in inflammatory bowel disease patients with iron-deficiency anemia, in terms of both disease progression and healthcare resource utilization.

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Conflict of interest statement

CSL Vifor funded the study report, the contents of which are given in this manuscript, produced by Vifor Pharma Group and CliCon S.r.l. Benefit Society. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders. The agreement signed by CliCon S.r.l. and CSL Vifor does not create any entity, joint venture or any other similar relationship between the parties. CliCon S.r.l. is an independent company. Neither CliCon S.r.l. nor any of its representatives are employees of CSL Vifor in any capacity. Antonio Ramirez de Arellano Serna and Neige Teldja Morin are employees of CSL Vifor. Ioannis Koutroubakis has served as advisory board member for Abbvie, Genesis, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Shire, Takeda and Vifor; Speaker for AbbVie, Genesis, Janssen, MSD, Vianex and Takeda; research support Abbvie, Vianex and Ferring. For the remaining authors, there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Mean annual healthcare resource consumption during follow-up period in patients with IDA: treated and not treated with iron therapy. (a) Pre-PSM; (b) post-PSM.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Mean annual costs during follow-up period in patients with IDA: treated and not treated with iron therapy (a) pre-PSM; (b) post-PSM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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