Objectives: To describe the clinical, subclinical characteristics, and treatment outcomes of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.
Methods: This case series included 178 pediatric IDA patients at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital (July 2025–May 2026). Overall, 164 children in the nutritional group received treatment, with 105 follow-up patients included in the pre- and post-treatment analysis.
Results: IDA was predominantly observed in children under 5 years old, with the 6–23 months age group accounting for the highest proportion at 64.0%. Regarding etiology, nutritional iron deficiency was the primary cause, accounting for 92.1%, while blood loss represented a minor proportion of 7.9% (gastrointestinal bleeding: 7.3%, menorrhagia: 0.6%). The most common clinical signs were pallor (95.5%) and pale mucous membranes (70.2%). Other non-specific symptoms such as lusterless/ridged nails, angular cheilitis, and eating non-food items were rare, with rates of 5.6%, 5.6%, and 1.1%, respectively. Subclinically, microcytic anemia was the predominant type, accounting for 92.7%, while normocytic anemia was less common 7.3%. After 3 months of oral iron supplementation, 105 children from the nutritional IDA group returned for follow-up, showing significant improvement: 89.5% of the children fully recovered from anemia, 10.5% improved to mild anemia, and no cases of moderate or severe anemia remained.
Conclusions: IDA presented primarily as microcytic anemia with pallor. In 105 follow-up patients, hematological parameters improved after 3 months.