Does iron therapy have a place in the management of all breath-holding spells?

Background Aim of this study was to analyze the effect of iron therapy in children with breath-holding spells, irrespective of their hemoglobin level. Method All of the children were evaluated in terms of age, sex, age at onset of the attack, attack frequency, type of breath-holding spell, family pedigree, laboratory values. All enrolled patients were given iron at the dose of 4 mg/kg/day as a single daily dose for 3 months. Patients were called for follow-up appointments 1 and 3 months after the initiation of treatment to record the frequency and severity of spells. Results The mean age of the patients was 12.50 +/- 9.51 months. Patients were divided into two groups according to the hemoglobin level. The frequency of anemia in children with spells was recorded as 27%. Out of 100 patients treated with iron, 43% showed complete remission at the end of 1 month. At the end of the 3 months, percentage of complete responders increased to 80%. After three-month of iron treatment, 96.2% of the anemic and 73.97% of the non-anemic patients were spell-free. Eight children had mild adverse effects after iron therapy that did not require dose modification. Conclusions This study confirmed that iron therapy reduces spell frequency regardless of anemia in all breath-holding spells. A three-month empiric iron therapy should be offered to all children with spells.