The use of the iron chelator, deferoxamine mesylate, in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage is unlikely to bring benefit by 90 days, but six-month trials may show it has a positive impact on recovery, a US study suggests.

The results of the phase 2 clinical trial (i-DEF) in 283 adult patients have thrown researchers into a quandary, according to Australian neurologist and epidemiologist Professor Craig Anderson, of the George Institute of Global Health at UNSW.

Prior to the trial, doctors thought iron chelation may help prevent secondary injury post-stroke from haemolysed blood that can affect the extent of perihaematomal oedema in the days following the event, he writes in a commentary on the study in the Lancet Neurology.

However, the study’s primary outcome — the percentage of patients scoring 0-2 on the modified Rankin Scale at 90 days — revealed little difference between patients receiving deferoxamine mesylate infusions (32mg/kg/day) for three days and those on placebo saline infusions.