RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The most frequent complications of oral administration of medicinal iron are gastrointestinal complaints the incidence of which correlates with the iron content of the preparation. The objective of the present work was to compare the effectiveness and tolerance of two ferrous sulphate preparations, Aktiferrin capsules and Tardyferon dragées which differ as to the elemental iron content. METHODS AND RESULTS: To two groups of patients with sideropenic anaemia selected at random (39 women and 1 men, age 14-61 years, median 28 years) Aktiferrin or Tardyferon was administered. Administration of the preparations which have a more than double different elemental iron content had a comparable effect on the investigated haematological parameters. In the group treated with Akiferrin no GIT intolerance was observed, in the group with Tardyferon it was observed in four patients. CONCLUSIONS: Aktiferrin has a comparable therapeutic effect although it contains 2.5 times less elemental iron, as compared with Tardyferon.