• Int J Surg · Feb 2017

    Correction of iron-deficiency anaemia in colorectal surgery reduces perioperative transfusion rates: A before and after study.

    • Edel M Quinn, Ellen Meland, Stacy McGinn, and John H Anderson.
    • Department of Colorectal Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, G4 0ET, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: edelquinn@rcsi.ie.
    • Int J Surg. 2017 Feb 1; 38: 1-8.

    BackgroundPreoperative anaemia is a risk factor for poorer postoperative outcomes and many colorectal cancer patients have iron-deficiency anaemia. The aim of this study was to assess if a preoperative iron-deficiency anaemia management protocol for elective colorectal surgery patients helps improve detection and treatment of iron-deficiency, and improve patient outcomes.Materials And MethodsRetrospective data was collected from 95 consecutive patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery to establish baseline anaemia correction rates and perioperative transfusion rates. A new pathway for early detection of iron-deficiency anaemia, and treatment with intravenous iron replacement, for colorectal cancer patients was then developed and implemented. Data from 81 patients was collected prospectively post-implementation to assess the impact of the pathway.ResultsPre-intervention data showed anaemic patients were seventeen times more likely to require perioperative transfusion than non-anaemic patients (95% CI 1.9-151.0, p = 0.011). Post-intervention, fifteen patients with iron-deficiency were treated with either intravenous (n = 8) or oral iron (n = 7). Mean Day 3 postoperative haemoglobin levels were significantly lower in patients with uncorrected anaemia (9.5 g/dL, p = 0.004); those patients whose anaemia was corrected by iron replacement therapy preoperatively had similar postoperative results to non-anaemic patients (10.93 g/dL vs 11.4 g/dL, p = 0.781). Postoperative transfusion rates remained high at 38% in patients with uncorrected anaemia, compared to 0% in corrected anaemia and 3.5% in non-anaemic patients.ConclusionsIntroduction of an iron-deficiency anaemia management pathway has resulted in improved perioperative haemoglobin levels, with a reduction in perioperative transfusion, in elective colorectal patients. Implementation of this pathway could result in similar outcomes across other categories of surgical patients.Copyright © 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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