Therapeutic Values of Different Routes of Administration of Vitamin A with Ferrous Sulfate in Treating Deferoxamin-Induced Iron-Deficiency Anemia.

About half the pregnant women in developing countries suffer from iron-deficiency anemia. The treatment of choice for these patients includes iron compounds such as ferrous sulfate. It was recently shown that a concomitant administration of vitamin A with ferrous sulfate increases iron-induced hematopoietic effect. In the current study, the efficacy of various routes of administration of vitamin A with ferrous sulfate in deferoxamin-treated anemic rats were compared. The work reveals no difference among various routes of administration, including several alternates of oral and intramuscular injection of vitamin A and ferrous sulfate for 28 d. It was therefore concluded that the therapeutic effect of vitamin A in iron-deficiency anemia is probably not via its influence on iron absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.