Review by expert group in the diagnosis and treatment of anemia in pregnant women. Federación Mexicana de Colegios de Obstetricia y Ginecología

According to data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF from year 2009, iron deficiency is the most widespread nutritional deficiency worldwide. This deficiency causes an imbalance between needs and iron supply, which consequently results in anemia. Around the world, two million people suffer from anemia, half of which is due to iron deficiency. The most impacted groups are children and teenagers, due to their highest requirements derived from the growing process, and women in their reproductive age, due to their loss of iron derived from menstruating or to their highest iron needs during pregnancy. This increase in needs is not satisfied by the regular diet, since it includes an insufficient amount and/or low bioavailability of iron. To share with the medical community treating pregnant women the experience of an expert group so that they always bear in mind the repercussions caused by anemia during pregnancy, know more about the diagnostic possibilities and have a reference point for prescribing iron supplements. The consensus method was used through the expert panel group technique. Two rounds were taken for structuring the clinical questions. The first one was to facilitate working groups their focusing in the clinical topics and the population of interest; the second one was to aid in posing specific questions observing the Patient, Intervention, Compare and Outcome (PICO) structure. The primary and clinical secondary study variables were defined by the working groups from the previously developed questions and during the face-to-face working period, according to the natural history of the disease: risk factors, diagnostic classification, (either pharmacological or non pharmacological) treatment and prognosis. The level of evidence and clinical recommendation was classified based on the Evidence Classification Level and Clinical Recommendation of the Medicine Group based on Evidence from Oxford University. In Mexico, 20.6% of pregnant women suffer from anemia, especially those between 15 and 16 years old, who prevail in 42.4% and 34.3% percent, respectively. Almost half the cases are due to iron deficiency. This type of anemia is associated with a higher risk of pre-term delivery, of low birth weight and perinatal death. The first assessment of an anemic pregnant woman shall include the medical history, a physical examination and the quantification of the erythrocyte indices, serum concentrations of iron and ferritin. The measurement of this l