Dextran antibodies, complement conversion and circulating immune complexes after intravenous iron dextran therapy in dialysed patients.

Serum immune complexes, plasma dextran antibodies and percentage conversion of complement have been measured in 20 dialysed patients before and after an intravenous infusion of iron dextran providing 600 mg elemental iron. Complement conversion was unmeasurable and there were no changes in circulating immune complexes. The presence of dextran antibodies in nine patients before the infusion was not related to prior exposure to iron dextran. They became undetectable in these patients within hours after the infusion, reappearing 1 month later in three. Two of three patients reporting mild aches and shivers on the day following the infusion had no detectable dextran antibodies. An adverse reaction involving inflamed joints occurred 1-2 days after a second infusion given to one of the patients studied above. The parameters under study were again measured and did not appear to relate to the reaction. The presence of dextran antibodies does not preclude the giving of iron dextran to patients on dialysis, and the immune complex and complement systems remain undisturbed by iron dextran infusions.