IV Iron Dextran Cost-Effective for Managing Iron-Deficiency Anemia

TUESDAY, Jan. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Intravenous (IV) iron dextran is the most cost-effective strategy for managing iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) in women with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), according to a study published online Jan. 8 in Blood Advances.

Daniel Wang, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined the reproductive lifetime cost-effectiveness of first-line IV versus oral iron therapy for women with HMB and IDA. A Markov model was developed to simulate a cohort of women aged 18 to 51 years comparing first-line treatment with IV iron dextran, IV ferumoxytol, IV iron sucrose, or oral ferrous sulfate.

The researchers found that IV iron dextran was the most cost-effective treatment, yielding 19.26 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at a cost of $157,500 versus 19.10 QALYs costing $152,900 for oral ferrous sulfate. For IV iron dextran, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $28,600 per QALY. The costs of treatment with IV ferumoxytol and iron sucrose were $158,300 and $163,500, respectively, with no additional QALY benefit versus IV iron dextran. Across a range of sensitivity analyses and scenarios, IV iron dextran remained the most cost-effective treatment.

“Oral iron is usually given as first-line treatment because on the surface, it appears less expensive and more convenient,” Wang said in a statement. “However, we found that the preferred first-line treatment for these patients is IV iron as it delivers the highest value for cost and substantially improves quality of life.”

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

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