Iron Polymaltose/ Folic Acid

Registered South African indications:

• Iron deficiency
• Iron deficiency anaemia

Combination products may have additional pharmacological effects not accounted for by the action of the individual ingredients

Iron Polymaltose
Contraindications 

• Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient or any of the excipients in this combination product
• Haemochromatosis
• Haemosiderosis

Caution

• Pregnancy
• Renal impairment
• Hepatic impairment

Folic acid
Contraindications 

• Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient or any of the excipients in this combination product
• Malignant disease (unless megaloblastic anaemia due to folic acid deficiency)

Cautions

• Pernicious anaemia
• Undiagnosed megaloblastic anaemia without sufficient amounts of cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12)
• Coronary stents
• Folate dependent tumours
• Haemodialysis
• Galactose intolerance
• Lapp lactase deficiency
• Glucose-galactose malabsorption medicine

Additional contraindications for this combination product

• Iron overload
• Disturbance in iron utilisation
• Repeated blood transfusions
• Anaemia without iron deficiency
• Untreated inflammatory conditions

Forms avail. in SA and covered in this monograph: cap

Iron deficiency
Iron deficiency anaemia

Iron Polymaltose/ Folic acid
50/0.15 (mg)

• Oral (cap): 2-4 cap/day in divided doses; May be supplemented with 1-2 cap/day as needed

Take with meals

Not established for use in children

Recommendations for this combination product as per highest risk category when comparing individual active ingredients

Pregnancy

• Caution
• No controlled data in human pregnancy
• No evidence of teratogenicity in human case reports

Breastfeeding

• Compatible (Iron polymaltose, Folic acid)
• Multiple reports suggest that iron supplementation during breastfeeding does not significantly affect the total iron concentration in human milk
• Administration of iron during breastfeeding is generally considered safe for the infant by most clinicians 

Renal Impairment

• Caution; no information available (Iron polymaltose)

Hepatic Impairment

• Caution; no information available (Iron polymaltose, Folic acid)

Elderly

• No dose adjustment recommended (Iron polymaltose, Folic acid)

Porphyria Information

• Not yet classified (NC)

Drugs in Sport

• Permitted - No warning

Combination products may have additional pharmacological effects not accounted for by the action of the individual ingredients

Iron Polymaltose
Central Nervous System Disorders

• Headache
• Lassitude

Gastrointestinal Disorders

• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Darkening of stools
• Heartburn
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Stomach cramps

Folic acid
Gastrointestinal Disorders

• Abdominal distension
• Flatulence
• Anorexia 
• Nausea

Immune, Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders

• Allergic reactions

Combination products may have additional pharmacological effects not accounted for by the action of the individual ingredients

Iron Polymaltose

• Alpha-lipoic acid
• Antacids
• Bisphosphonate derivatives
• Cefdinir
• Deferiprone
• Dimercaprol
• Dolutegravir
• Eltrombopag
• Entacapone
• Parenteral iron 
• Levodopa
• Levothyroxine
• Methyldopa
• Penicillamine
• Phosphate supplements
• Quinolone anitbiotics
• Tetracycline derivatives
• Trientine

Folic acid

• Sulfasalazine
• Cholestyramine 
• Antibiotics 
• Trimethoprim
• Sulfonamides
• Anticonvulsant drugs 
• Fluorouracil 
• Edible clay
• Antacids 
• Zinc

None routine

Iron Polymaltose
Iron polymaltose replaces depleted iron stores, and thus replenishes haemoglobin as well as vital iron-containing enzymes necessary for the oxidative processes in living tissues

Folic acid
Folic acid, a biochemically inactive compound, is converted to tetrahydrofolic acid and methyltetrahydrofolate. These folic acid congeners are needed to maintain normal erythropoiesis, synthesize purine and thymidylate nucleic acids, interconvert amino acids, methylate tRNA, and generate and use formate. Using vitamin B12 as a cofactor, folic acid can form methionine from homocysteine 

Iron Polymaltose/Folic Acid is available in several formulations. Please note the list below gives examples of products which are available and is not necessarily comprehensive. The listing of a product does not constitute endorsement of the product by EMGuidance; likewise, failure to list a product does not imply that EMGuidance disapproves of the product. This information is put together on the basis of the National Government's Medicines Price Registry at the time of publication

COMBINATION PREPARATIONS

Iron Polymaltose/ Folic acid

Capsule 50mg/150μg

• Ferrimed (Takeda)