Iron deficiency anemia

Etiology / Pathophysiology

• Insufficient iron intake/absorption, blood loss, pregnancy demand, rapid growth, or GI bleeding.
• Low iron reduces hemoglobin production and oxygen delivery.

Medications

No specific medication class was seeded for this card.

Signs / symptoms

• Iron teaching often includes vitamin C, constipation prevention, and keeping supplements away from children.
• Look for bleeding source, not just low intake.

Nursing actions

• Assess fatigue, pallor, dyspnea on exertion, diet, pregnancy status, menstrual/GI blood loss, and pica when present.
• Teach iron administration as ordered; vitamin C can improve absorption and calcium/antacids can interfere with timing.
• Monitor CBC, ferritin, iron studies, constipation, and black stool teaching with supplements.

Complications

• Activity intolerance
• Pregnancy complications
• Developmental concerns in infants/children
• Unrecognized bleeding source

NCLEX cues

• Iron teaching often includes vitamin C, constipation prevention, and keeping supplements away from children.
• Look for bleeding source, not just low intake.

Memory hooks

• Iron carries oxygen in hemoglobin.

Labs / Diagnostics

• CBC
• Ferritin
• Serum iron
• TIBC when ordered
• Stool blood testing when ordered

Review notes

• Generated from the nutrition entity graph. Verify against ATI/school nutrition materials before validation.