In this study we investigated the effects of early enteral iron supplementation on erythrocyte and iron status parameters and on endogenous erythropoietin levels in very low birth weight infants. Thirty healthy preterm infants with birth weights between 920-1500 g were included in the study at a mean age of 16 days. Seventeen infants were randomized to receive 2-4 mg/kg/day enteral iron and 13 infants served as controls. Hemoglobin concentrations, mean corpuscular volume, reticulocyte count, serum iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation, ferritin and erythropoietin levels were studied on three consecutive venous blood samples taken at the beginning, and on the 7th and 28th days of the study. Hemoglobin concentration declined throughout the study in both groups. Serum iron levels and transferrin saturation increased during the study period in iron-supplemented infants. Although the erythropoietin levels were similar in both groups, a significant negative correlation between erythropoietin and hemoglobin concentration was observed in iron-supplemented infants on the 7th and 28th days of the study. Early enteral iron supplementation in very low birth weight infants seems beneficial by maintaining adequate iron levels and enhancing erythropoietin response to anemia.

Keywords: Prematüre anemisi, çok düşük doğum ağırlığı, erken enteral demir, eritropoez, eritropoetin, anemia of prematurity, very low birth weight, early enteral iron, erythropoiesis, erythropoietin