Fatal Anaphylaxis After Intramuscular Iron-Dextran
Authors: CHARLES E. BECKER
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1966)

Case Studies1 October 1966Fatal Anaphylaxis After Intramuscular Iron-DextranCHARLES E. BECKER, M.D., ROB R. MACGREGOR, M.D., KEITH S. WALKER, M.D., JAMES H. JANDL, M.D.CHARLES E. BECKER, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, ROB R. MACGREGOR, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, KEITH S. WALKER, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, JAMES H. JANDL, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-65-4-745 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptIron-dextran has been commercially available in the United States since 1957. Despite widespread use, untoward side effects have been uncommon, most often involving local discomfort or staining of the skin at the injection site. Less often there have been generalized reactions, usually of an allergic nature and sometimes progressing to symptoms of serum sickness, including adenopathy, fever, and arthralgias. Personal communication with the manufacturer has revealed that only one report of a fatal reaction, possibly anaphylactic, has been published. The manufacturers have been directly informed, however, of two other deaths in which there was a possible relationship between administration of...References1. MCCURDYRATHMEERKREBS PRCEGE: Parenteral iron therapy, with special reference to a new preparation for intramuscular injection. New Eng. J. Med. 257: 1147, 1957. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. JENNISONELLIS RFHR: Intramuscular iron. A clinical trial in pregnancy. Lancet 2: 1245, 1954. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. Death after injection of Inferon, in The Pharmaceutical Journal, vol. 184. Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, May 7, 1960, p. 379. Google Scholar4. CALLENDERSMITH STMD: Intramuscular iron (correspondence). Brit. Med. J. 2: 1487, 1954. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. BOURNE G: Reactions to intramuscular iron (medical memorandum). Brit. Med. J. 2: 305, 1955. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. KOSZEWSKIWALSH BJJR: Intramuscular iron therapy with iron-dextran. Amer. J. Med. Sci. 235: 523, 1958. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. LANE RS: Intravenous infusion of iron-dextran complex for iron deficiency anaemia. Lancet 1: 852, 1964. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. BEN-ISHAY D: Toxic reactions to intramuscular administration of iron dextran. Lancet 1: 476, 1961. CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. LOFTUS LR: Unusual allergic reaction to iron-dextran complex. JAMA 174: 302, 1960. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. SHAFERMARLOW AWAA: Brief recording: toxic reaction to intramuscular injection of iron. New Eng. J. Med. 260: 180, 1959. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. MCCURDY PR: Parenteral iron therapy. II: A new iron-sorbitol citric acid complex for intra-muscular injection. Ann. Intern. Med. 61: 1053, 1964. LinkGoogle Scholar12. MCCURDY PR: Oral and parenteral iron therapy: a comparison. JAMA 191: 859, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Boston, MassachusettsFrom the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory and Second and Fourth (Harvard) Medical Services, Boston City Hospital, and the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.Requests for reprints should be addressed to James H. Jandl, M.D., Thorndike Memorial Laboratory, Boston City Hospital, Boston, Mass. 02118. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByIntradermal, epidermal and transcutaneous vaccination: from immunology to clinical practiceIntramuscular administration of iron dextran is inappropriate for treatment of moderate pregnancy anemia, both in intervention research on underprivileged women and in routine prenatal care provided by public health servicesA prospective, partially randomized study of pregnancy outcomes and hematologic responses to oral and intramuscular iron treatment in moderately anemic pregnant womenEffects of Iron Supplementation on Maternal Hematologic Status in PregnancyIntravenous iron dextran therapy in patients with iron deficiency and normal renal function who failed to respond to or did not tolerate oral iron supplementationAnaphylactoid reaction to BCG vaccine containing high molecular weight dextranIntravenous Iron Administration to Very-Low-Birth-Weight Newborns Receiving Total and Partial Parenteral NutritionIn vivo behaviour of low molecular weight iron complexesAnaphylactoid reaction to BCG vaccinationSafety of iron dextran in total parenteral nutrition: a case report.Total Parenteral Nutrition in ChildrenTotal Parenteral Nutrition in the Newborn: An UpdateIron deficiency and iron overloadPossible contribution of oxyhemoglobin to the iron-induced hemolysis simultaneous effect of iron and hemoglobin on lipid peroxidationSupplementation of Total Parenteral Nutrition Solutions with Ferrous CitrateIron DeficiencyAkute Dezerebration nach intravenöser Ferrisaccharat-Injektion — neunjährige VerlaufsbeobachtungSolutions and Emulsions Used for Intravenous InfusionsTreatment of Iron DeficiencyWHO sponsored collaborative studies on nutritional anaemia in IndiaAutologous Blood TransfusionFatal Anaphylaxis After Intravenous Iron DextranClinical Pharmacy: Case Studies Case No. 2 Complications of GastrectomyDrug Information Analysis ServiceTreatment of Anaphylaxis 1 October 1966Volume 65, Issue 4Page: 745-748KeywordsAlcoholsAllergy and immunologyAnaphylaxisArthralgiaArthritisFeversHospital medicineMedical servicesResearch laboratoriesStaining Issue Published: 1 October 1966 PDF DownloadLoading ...