Lancet: Preoperative iron therapy does not improve the need for postoperative blood transfusions in anemia patients.

The proportion of patients with anemia in preoperative examinations is high, and anemia is associated with poor prognosis after surgery.
recently examined the effects of preoperative iron therapy on reducing blood transfusion needs and patient prognosis in patients with anemia undergoing selected abdominal surgery.
study was conducted at 46 level 3 health care centres in the UK, with adult participants preparing for abdominal surgery and finding anemia during preoperative examinations.
anaemia is defined as male hemoglobin below 130 g/L and female hemoglobin below 120 g/L.
patients received intravenous iron (1g of estred iron) or placebo 10-42 days before surgery.
end point of the study was blood transfusion or death.
487 patients were involved in the study, including 243 in the placebo group, 244 in the intravenous group of ferrol and 474 (97%) in the patients.
67 (28%) of the 237 patients in the placebo group died or needed blood transfusions, and 69 of the 237 patients in the venous iron group (29%) died or needed blood transfusions (risk ratio 1.03).
105 patients in the placebo group received blood transfusions and 105 cases in the intravenous iron group (ratio 0.98).
significant difference in pre-specified safety endpoints between hemoglobin concentration change groups.
study concluded that intravenous iron therapy in patients with anemia 10-42 days before selected abdominal surgery could not reduce the need for blood transfusions after surgery.
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