Randomized Trial of Iron Supplementation to Prevent Anemia in Very-low-birth-weight Infants

June 17, 2015 updated by: Kathleen Kennedy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Randomized Trial Comparing Iron Supplementation Versus Routine Iron Intake in Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infants

The purpose of this study is to determine if iron supplementation in addition to routine iron intake decreases the risk of developing anemia in preterm infants.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objective was to determine if iron supplementation of 2 mg/kg per day, in addition to routine iron-fortified formula or mother's milk, increased the hematocrit (Hct) at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA).

All infants have a decline in hemoglobin(Hgb) after birth because of increasing PaO2 and Hgb saturation after birth. In very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (birth weight ,1500 g), the nadir at 1 to 3 months after birth is lower than in term infants because of (1) greater phlebotomy losses for blood tests, (2) shortened red blood cell survival, and (3)rapid growth.

VLBW infants may be at increased risk of developing iron deficiency anemia because of (1) low iron stores at birth, (2) rapid depletion of iron stores owing to phlebotomy losses, and (3) inability to regulate iron absorption by the gastrointestinal tract.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

150

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

No older than 1 month (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. birth weight: < 1500 grams
  2. Tolerating iron fortified preterm formula or fortified breast milk at 120cc/kg/day by 8 weeks of age
  3. ≤32 weeks adjusted post-menstrual age at the time of enrollment

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. cyanotic heart disease
  2. bowel resection prior to enrollment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: iron supplementation
2 mg/kg/day of elemental iron as a multivitamin with iron solution
Drug: Iron Supplement
2 mg/kg/day elemental iron as multivitamin with iron solution
Sham Comparator: control
multivitamin solution without iron
Drug: control
multivitamin solution without iron

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hematocrit (Hct)
Time Frame: 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA)
For infants discharged from the hospital before 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA), the last Hct before discharge was used. For infants transferred before 36 weeks PMA, the Hct at 36 weeks was sought from the receiving hospital and used if available. For infants transferred before 36 weeks with no available Hct at 36 weeks, the last Hct before transfer was used. For those who died before 36 weeks PMA, the Hct at 36 weeks was considered to be missing.
36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Transfusions
Time Frame: enrollment to 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA)
# of transfusions infants required after enrollment.
enrollment to 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kennedy Kathleen, MD, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 14, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 18, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

October 19, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 19, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2015

Last Verified

June 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RCT of Iron Supplementation

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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