Anaemia in the older surgical patient: a review of prevalence, causes, implications and management

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Vol. 106; no. 7; pp. 269 - 277
• Main Authors: Partridge, Judith, Harari, Danielle, Gossage, Jessica, Dhesi, Jugdeep
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.07.2013
• Subjects: Aging; Anemia - etiology; Anemia - mortality; Anemia - therapy; Blood Transfusion; Chronic Disease; Deficiency Diseases - complications; Erythropoiesis; Humans; Iron - deficiency; Iron - therapeutic use; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Postoperative Complications - mortality; Postoperative Complications - therapy; Reviews; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Transfusion Reaction
• ISSN: 0141-0768; 1758-1095
• DOI: 10.1177/0141076813479580

This review provides the clinician with a summary of the causes, implications and potential treatments for the management of anaemia in the older surgical patient. The prevalence of anaemia increases with age and is frequently identified in older surgical patients. Anaemia is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. Allogenic blood transfusion is commonly used to treat anaemia but involves inherent risks and may worsen outcomes. Various strategies for the correction of pre- and postoperative anaemia have evolved. These include correction of nutritional deficiencies and the use of intravenous iron and erythropoesis stimulating therapy. Clear differences exist between the elective and emergency surgical populations and the translation of research findings into these individual clinical settings requires more work. This should lead to a standardized approach to the management of this frequently encountered clinical scenario.