{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T18:23:07Z","timestamp":1776450187401,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,14]],"date-time":"2022-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1660435200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Progetto Fondazione di Sardegna","award":["076855631"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["076855631"]}]},{"name":"Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program\/Fondazione Con Il Sud","award":["076855631"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["076855631"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are used to treat refractory anemia (RA). Guidelines suggest iron supplementation for unresponsive patients, regardless of iron deficiency. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of iron supplementation with ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) on the reduction of red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) rate in transfusion-dependent RA patients. Methods: This was a prospective quasi-randomized study, wherein patients were randomly assigned into three groups: (A) ESAs alone, (B) ferric gluconate (FG) and ESAs, and (C) FCM and ESAs. Hemoglobin and ferritin levels, as well as the number of RBCTs at 4 and 28 weeks were compared. Economic evaluation was also performed. Results: A total of 113 RA patients were enrolled. In total, 43 were treated with intravenous FG and ESAs, 38 with FCM and ESAs, and 32 with ESAs alone. At both follow-ups, erythropoietic response was increased in those receiving iron as compared with those with ESAs alone (p = 0.001), regardless of the type of iron. At one month, ferritin levels were higher in the FCM and ESA groups (p = 0.001). RBCTs were lower in both iron groups. The less costly treatment strategy was FCM, followed by FG, and lastly ESAs. Conclusions: Addition of iron to ESAs in RA reduced RBCT requirement and improved hemoglobin values.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm11164744","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,15]],"date-time":"2022-08-15T01:47:21Z","timestamp":1660528041000},"page":"4744","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Ferric Carboxymaltose and Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent Treatment Reduces the Rate of Blood Transfusion in Refractory Anemia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5379-1091","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio","family":"Gidaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi N\u00b0 74, 20157 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessandro Palmerio","family":"Delitala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro N\u00b0 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Berzuini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione IRCCS Ca\u2019 Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza, 28, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mark J.","family":"Soloski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pietro","family":"Manca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transfusion Center, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria, Piazza Universit\u00e0, N\u00b0 21, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dante","family":"Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro N\u00b0 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emanuele","family":"Salvi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi N\u00b0 74, 20157 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7376-2303","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Manetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro N\u00b0 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giorgio","family":"Lambertenghi Deliliers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Mattarelli Largo della Crocetta, 2, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3976-7690","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Castelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro N\u00b0 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.annonc.2020.11.002","article-title":"Myelodysplastic syndromes: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up","volume":"32","author":"Fenaux","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ann. 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