RAINDroP: RAndomised IroN Deficency anaemia Pilot
Research type
Research Study
Full title
RAINDroP: RAndomised IroN Deficency anaemia Pilot\n\n
IRAS ID
233417
Contact name
Phyo Myint
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Aberdeen
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN98371961
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 3 days
Research summary
Anaemia due to low iron levels is common in older people and can cause tiredness and breathlessness. It is commonly treated with oral iron supplementation. However, oral iron supplementation does not improve anaemia in many people and they have side effects. We do not know what strategy of care is best for patients who do not respond to oral iron supplementation: should we stop treatment, continue with supplementation (which is current practice) or switch to iron given by a drip (intravenous iron)? \n\nWe will conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial to identify what is the best way of finding and recruiting people who do not respond to oral iron supplementation, and to compare the three strategies of care. We will recruit 84 older people with iron deficiency anaemia who are not improving on oral iron supplementation, and randomise them to receive one of the above three strategies of care for three months. \n\nKey outcomes will include: how long it takes to recruit enough people to the trial, which method(s) of recruitment (clinic, adverts or GP letters) is/are most efficient, and the improvement in haemoglobin level (a measure of anaemia) in each treatment arm. \n\nThe results will allow us to plan a large, multicentre trial to find out which of the three options should become routine clinical care in this situation.\n
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
18/NS/0064
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jun 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion