• Frank S Hong, Nicole Sieradzki, Claire Pollock, Faye Nasra, Allison Mo, Abbey Willcox, Leonid Churilov, Wai Khoon Ho, and Carole Smith.
• Department of Laboratory Haematology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
• Intern Med J. 2017 Dec 1; 47 (12): 1400-1404.

BackgroundPreoperative anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in surgical patients. Recent national patient blood management guideline recommended screening surgical patients for anaemia, particularly iron deficiency anaemia, without reference to the prevalence of anaemia or iron deficiency anaemia in this patient population.AimsTo establish the prevalence and cause of preoperative anaemia in elective major surgery patients.MethodsPatients attending the anaesthetic pre-admission clinics from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 prior to their major elective surgery in our institution were screened for anaemia and iron deficiency by measuring full blood count, iron studies and C-reactive protein. Patients who were anaemic were either further assessed in the haematology clinic or had their medical records reviewed to ascertain the cause of the anaemia.ResultsOf 1494 patients, 208 (13.9%) were anaemic, with a male predominance (70.7%); 57 (27.4%) of them had iron deficiency anaemia. Other common causes of anaemia include underlying malignancy (18.3%), end-stage renal failure (11.5%) and other chronic diseases (7.2%). In 53 patients (25.5%), the cause was unknown. Anaemia was most commonly found in patients scheduled for gastrointestinal surgery.ConclusionPreoperative anaemia affects 13.9% of patients undergoing elective major surgery. The most common causes are iron deficiency and chronic diseases. The cause was unexplained in 25.5% of patients with anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia in different surgical specialties may have implications on the approach to screening, particularly in resource-limited areas.© 2017 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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