Table 4.

Haematological variables at recruitment and at admission

	Group	Recruitment	Admission	P-value [95% CI]
Haemoglobin (g/dl); mean (SD)
	Iron group	13.4 (1.9)	13.1 (2.0)*	NS
	No-iron group	12.4 (2.1)	11.8 (2.0)*	0.002 [0.26–0.97]
Ferritin (mg/l); median (range)
	Iron group	40 (15–222)	73 (27–386)	0.001 [10.57–46.53]
	No-iron group	43 (6–293)	43 (4–414)	NS
Reticulocyte count (× 109/l); median (range)
	Iron group	36 (21–112)	41 (28–93)	NS
	No-iron group	50 (3–91)	49 (3–136)	NS

^*Significant difference between groups in admission haemoglobin (P = 0.04).