Intravenous Iron Substitution in Chronic Disease - in Whom, When and How?

In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the detection and treatment of iron deficiency. The results are also relevant for many specialist areas and, in particular, for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. In daily practice, iron deficiency is often neither identified nor consistently treated. An iron deficiency can - even before anaemia occurs - reduce the quality of life and influence the course of the underlying disease. In patients with chronic diseases, the iron status should be monitored regularly. Especially, the currently available oral iron preparations for these patients are inefficient, because of the limitated tolerability and, furthermore, because of restricted enteral iron uptake due to inflammation. For this reason, various guidelines recommend intravenous iron substitution.