Usefulness of the administration of intravenous iron sucrose for the correction of preoperative anemia in major surgery patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is a high incidence of perioperative anemia among surgical patients (20%-70%). Preoperative anemia has been linked to an increased postoperative morbidity and mortality, as well as a decreased quality of life of surgical patients. In addition, a low preoperative hemoglobin constitutes an important predictive factor of allogeneic blood transfusion in major surgery. We evaluated the efficacy of intravenous iron sucrose (IVIS) administration for correction of anemia in these patient populations. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Data from 84 patients with anemia who were scheduled for major elective surgery (30 colon cancer resections, 33 abdominal hysterectomies, 21 lower limb arthroplasties) and who received preoperative IVIS during 3-5 weeks were propectively collected. RESULTS: Administration of IVIS -mean dose (standard deviation): 1000 (440)mg- caused a significant increase of hemoglobin levels -2.0 (1.6)g/dl (p<0.001)- and anemia was resolved in 58% of patients. No life-threatening adverse effect was witnessed. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low incidence of side effects and the rapid increase of hemoglobin levels, IVIS emerges as a safe, effective drug for treating preoperative anemia in these patient populations