Assessment of Adherence to Oral Iron Supplementation Guidelines in Patients With Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and objective The most common kind of anemia in the world is iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and following recommendations for oral iron supplements is still crucial to the effectiveness of therapy. The main objective of this study is to assess the level of adherence to oral iron supplementation guidelines among patients with IDA, focusing on prescribing practices, patient compliance, and follow-up monitoring in a clinical setting. Methodology A two-phase cross-sectional clinical audit was conducted in the Outpatient Medical Departments of Gujranwala Medical College and Allied Teaching Hospitals, Gujranwala, Pakistan. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 278 adult individuals with an IDA diagnosis who were provided oral iron treatment. From January to June 2023, Phase 1 (n = 139) was carried out. This was followed by an intervention phase that included patient information leaflets and physician education. The second phase (n = 139) took place between October 2023 and March 2024. A 10-point audit proforma was used to evaluate adherence, with scores classified as excellent (≥8), moderate (5-7), or poor (≤4). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25 (released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to analyze the data, and a paired-sample t-test was used to assess statistical significance. Results Good adherence was shown by 41 out of 139 patients (29.50%) in Phase 1 and 79 out of 139 patients (56.83%) in Phase 2. The number of patients with poor adherence dropped from 34 (24.46%) to 16 (11.51%). There was a substantial improvement in the mean adherence score, from 5.43 ± 1.78 to 7.26 ± 1.45 (p < 0.001). In Phase 2, 131 patients (94.24%) received written teaching materials, but in Phase 1, none were provided. Follow-up monitoring, including hemoglobin/ferritin reassessment, rose from 63 patients (45.32%) to 117 patients (84.17%). Conclusions Targeted educational interventions significantly improved adherence to oral iron supplementation guidelines among patients with IDA.