• Lourdes Durán, Victoria Moral, Misericordia Basora, María José Colomina, Juan Vicente Llau, Calixto Andrés Sánchez, Sonsoles Silva, and Miguel Vila.
• Grupo de Estudio para el Ahorro de Sangre (GEAS); Servicio de Anestesiología y Reanimación, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, España. ldurangi38@hotmail.com
• Cir Esp. 2009 Jan 1; 85 (1): 45-52.

IntroductionAnaemia is common in oncology patients who are going to have surgery for tumour resection. Allogenic blood transfusion has been associated with a greater incidence of postoperative complications. The aim of this study is to analyse current clinical practice as regards the preoperative treatment and conditions of these patients in Spain.Material And MethodThis is an epidemiological observational study which included 472 patients from different hospitals. The data included in the clinical history was analysed: tumour location, preoperative laboratory tests, functional situation (Karnofsky index [KI]), anaemia treatment and transfusions given since the diagnosis.ResultsAs regards the tumour location, 181 were urological (38.3%), 161 digestive system (34.1%), and 130 gynaecological (27.5%). The time from the initial diagnosis until surgical intervention was 6.2+/-6 weeks, and 19.1+/-23 days from the anaesthetist visit to the surgical operation. The mean pre-operative haemoglobin (Hb) was 13.1+/-2 g/dl. The anaemia was treated in 12.9% of the patients and 15% (69 patients) received a transfusion before surgery. A total of 28.1% patients had a KI< or =80. The lowest preoperative haemoglobin levels are associated with the lowest KI.ConclusionsAnaemia is present in a high percentage of oncology patients who are going to be surgically treated. Preoperative blood transfusion is the most common treatment. It was observed that there is sufficient preoperative time to be able to improve preparation of the patient for surgery.

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