Project description:BackgroundPreoperative anaemia affects a high proportion of patients undergoing major elective surgery and is associated with poor outcomes. We aimed to test the hypothesis that intravenous iron given to anaemic patients before major open elective abdominal surgery would correct anaemia, reduce the need for blood transfusions, and improve patient outcomes.MethodsIn a double-blind, parallel-group randomised trial, we recruited adult participants identified with anaemia at preoperative hospital visits before elective major open abdominal surgery at 46 UK tertiary care centres. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin less than 130 g/L for men and 120 g/L for women. We randomly allocated participants (1:1) via a secure web-based service to receive intravenous iron or placebo 10-42 days before surgery. Intravenous iron was administered as a single 1000 mg dose of ferric carboxymaltose in 100 mL normal saline, and placebo was 100 mL normal saline, both given as an infusion over 15 min. Unblinded study personnel prepared and administered the study drug; participants and other clinical and research staff were blinded to treatment allocation. Coprimary endpoints were risk of the composite outcome of blood transfusion or death, and number of blood transfusions from randomisation to 30 days postoperatively. The primary analysis included all randomly assigned patients with data available for the primary endpoints; safety analysis included all randomly assigned patients according to the treatment received. This study is registered, ISRCTN67322816, and is closed to new participants.FindingsOf 487 participants randomly assigned to placebo (n=243) or intravenous iron (n=244) between Jan 6, 2014, and Sept 28, 2018, complete data for the primary endpoints were available for 474 (97%) individuals. Death or blood transfusion occurred in 67 (28%) of the 237 patients in the placebo group and 69 (29%) of the 237 patients in the intravenous iron group (risk ratio 1·03, 95% CI 0·78-1·37; p=0·84). There were 111 blood transfusions in the placebo group and 105 in the intravenous iron group (rate ratio 0·98, 95% CI 0·68-1·43; p=0·93). There were no significant differences between the two groups for any of the prespecified safety endpoints.InterpretationPreoperative intravenous iron was not superior to placebo to reduce need for blood transfusion when administered to patients with anaemia 10-42 days before elective major abdominal surgery.FundingUK National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment Program.
Project description:BackgroundAnaemia is common in patients undergoing major surgery. The current standard of care for patients with low haemoglobin in the peri-operative period is blood transfusion. The presence of preoperative anaemia is associated with an increased likelihood of the patient receiving peri-operative transfusion and worsened outcomes following surgery, more post-operative complications, delayed recovery and greater length of hospital stay. Intravenous iron, if applied in the preoperative setting, may correct anaemia by the time of surgery and reduce the need for blood transfusion and improve outcomes.Methods/designPREVENTT is a phase III double-blind randomised controlled trial that will compare the use of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (dose 1000 mg) with placebo 10-42 days before major open abdominal surgery in 500 patients with anaemia (haemoglobin < 120 g/L). The primary outcome measure will be the need for blood transfusion and secondary endpoints will include post-operative recovery, length of hospital stay, health care utilisation and cost analysis.Trial registrationISRCTN67322816--registered 9 October 2012. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01692418.
Project description:Individualized strategies for managing renal anaemia with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) need to be advanced. Recent outcomes from clinical studies prompted a narrowing of the guideline-recommended haemoglobin target (11-12 g/dL) due to increased mortality and morbidity when targeting higher haemoglobin concentrations. Maintaining a narrow target is a clinical challenge, as haemoglobin concentration tends to fluctuate. The goal of individualized treatment is to achieve the haemoglobin target at the lowest ESA dose while avoiding significant fluctuations in haemoglobin concentrations and persistently low or high concentrations. This may require changes to the ESA dose and dosing frequency over the course of treatment.
Project description:BackgroundPatients with colorectal cancer have a high risk of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) due to chronic tumour induced blood loss, a reduced dietary iron intake from poor nutrition or gastrointestinal malabsorption. This pilot, double blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) examined the effect and feasibility of using preoperative iron isomaltoside for treating iron deficiency anaemia.MethodsForty eligible adults with IDA were randomised to receive either intravenous iron isomaltoside (20 mg.kg-1 up to 1000 mg over 30 minutes) or usual preoperative care (control) three weeks before scheduled colorectal surgery. The primary outcomes were perioperative changes in haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations.ResultsThe recruitment rate was 78% of all eligible referred patients (1.9 patients/month). The haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations were higher in the iron isomaltoside group than the control group over the perioperative period (group*time interaction P = 0.042 and P < 0.001 respectively). Mean haemoglobin change from baseline to before surgery was higher in the iron isomaltoside group (7.8, 95% CI: 3.2 to 12.3 g.l-1) than the control group (1.7, 95% CI: -1.9 to 5.3 g.l-1) [mean difference 6.1, 95% CI: 0.3 to 11.8 g.l-1; P = 0.040]. The ferritin change from baseline to before surgery between groups was large in favour of the iron isomaltoside group (mean difference 296.9, 95% CI: 200.6 to 393.2 μg.l-1; P < 0.001]. There were no differences between groups in packed red blood cell transfusions needed, surgical complications, quality of recovery and days (alive and) at home within 30 days after surgery.ConclusionIron isomaltoside therapy was safe and had a minimal effect on perioperative changes in haemoglobin concentration. Given the slow recruitment and new evidence emerging during the conduct of this study, conducting a multi-centre RCT based on the current pilot trial protocol is unlikely to be feasible.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03565354.
Project description:Iron deficiency anaemia is a global health problem that manifests as fatigue and poor physical endurance. Anaemia can be caused by dietary iron deficiency, blood loss or a combination of poor iron absorption and ineffective iron mobilization in patients with chronic disease. Nephrologists caring for patients with impaired renal function understand that iron treatment is necessary to provide adequate iron for erythropoiesis during the treatment of overt anaemia. However, a less well-understood health problem is iron deficiency, which creates symptoms that overlap with those of anaemia and often occurs in concert with chronic disease. Recently, several randomized controlled clinical trials have been conducted to investigate the effects of treatment with intravenous iron in heart failure patients with iron deficiency who may or may not also have anaemia. Given that heart and kidney disease are often comorbid, these clinical trials may have implications for the way nephrologists view their patients with iron deficiency. In this article, we review several clinical studies of intravenous iron therapy for patients with iron deficiency and heart failure and discuss possible implications for the treatment of patients with kidney disease.
Project description:BACKGROUND:At least a third of patients with a colorectal carcinoma who are candidate for surgery, are anaemic preoperatively. Preoperative anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In general practice, little attention is paid to these anaemic patients. Some will have oral iron prescribed others not. The waiting period prior to elective colorectal surgery could be used to optimize a patients' physiological status. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of preoperative intravenous iron supplementation in comparison with the standard preoperative oral supplementation in anaemic patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS/DESIGN:In this multicentre randomized controlled trial, patients with an M0-staged colorectal carcinoma who are scheduled for curative resection and with a proven iron deficiency anaemia are eligible for inclusion. Main exclusion criteria are palliative surgery, metastatic disease, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (5?×?5 Gy?=?no exclusion) and the use of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin within three months before inclusion or a blood transfusion within a month before inclusion. Primary endpoint is the percentage of patients that achieve normalisation of the haemoglobin level between the start of the treatment and the day of admission for surgery. This study is a superiority trial, hypothesizing a greater proportion of patients achieving the primary endpoint in favour of iron infusion compared to oral supplementation. A total of 198 patients will be randomized to either ferric(III)carboxymaltose infusion in the intervention arm or ferrofumarate in the control arm. This study will be performed in ten centres nationwide and one centre in Ireland. DISCUSSION:This is the first randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of preoperative iron supplementation in exclusively anaemic patients with a colorectal carcinoma. Our trial hypotheses a more profound haemoglobin increase with intravenous iron which may contribute to a superior optimisation of the patient's condition and possibly a decrease in postoperative morbidity. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClincalTrials.gov: NCT02243735 .
Project description:Anaemia is a highly prevalent condition, which negatively impacts on patients' cardiovascular performance and quality of life. Anaemia is mainly caused by disturbances of iron homeostasis. While absolute iron deficiency mostly as a consequence of chronic blood loss or insufficient dietary iron absorption results in the emergence of iron deficiency anaemia, inflammation-driven iron retention in innate immune cells and blockade of iron absorption leads to the development of anaemia of chronic disease. Both, iron deficiency and anaemia have been linked to the clinical course of pulmonary hypertension. Various mechanistic links between iron homeostasis, anaemia, and pulmonary hypertension have been described and current treatment guidelines suggest regular iron status assessment and the implementation of iron supplementation strategies in these patients. The pathophysiology, diagnostic assessment as well as current and future treatment options concerning iron deficiency with or without anaemia in individuals suffering from pulmonary hypertension are discussed within this review.
Project description:BackgroundAnemia is common in cardiac surgery affecting 25-40% of patients and associated with increased blood transfusions, morbidity, mortality, and higher hospital costs. Higher rates of stroke, acute renal injury, and total number of adverse postoperative outcomes have also been reported to be associated with preoperative anemia. This systematic review assessed the current evidence for preoperative intravenous iron on major outcomes following cardiac surgery.MethodsOutcome measures included postoperative hemoglobin, transfusion rates, major adverse events, and mortality. The review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and articles were identified using PubMed, Cochrane, CLINAHL, WOS, and EMBASE databases. Articles were included if they compared patients with and without preoperative anemia based on treatment with intravenous iron. Quality was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and strength of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach.ResultsOf the articles reviewed, six met inclusion criteria. These included four randomized double-blind prospective cohort studies, one randomized non-blinded prospective study, and one non-randomized non-blinded prospective study with historical control. Across studies, 1,038 patients were enrolled. Two studies showed higher hemoglobin with iron therapy, and only one study showed significant differences in multiple outcomes such as transfusion and morbidity.ConclusionsGiven the paucity of studies and biases within them, the current evidence for treatment with intravenous iron prior to cardiac surgery is weak. More evidence is needed to support the administration of preoperative intravenous iron in cardiac surgery patients.
Project description:Determining the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of patient blood management programmes relies on quantifying the economic burden of preoperative anaemia. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the hospital costs attributable to preoperative anaemia in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Patients who underwent major abdominal surgery between 2010 and 2018 were included. The association between preoperative patient haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and hospital costs was evaluated by curve estimation based on the least-square method. The in-hospital cost of index admission was calculated using an activity-based costing methodology. Multivariable regression analysis and propensity score matching were used to estimate the effects of Hb concentration on variables related directly to hospital costs. A total of 1286 patients were included. The median overall cost was US $18 476 (i.q.r.13 784-27 880), and 568 patients (44.2 per cent) had a Hb level below 13.0 g/dl. Patients with a preoperative Hb level below 9.0 g/dl had total hospital costs that were 50.6 (95 per cent c.i. 14.1 to 98.9) per cent higher than those for patients with a preoperative Hb level of 9.0-13.0 g/dl (P < 0.001), 72.5 (30.6 to 128.0) per cent higher than costs for patients with a Hb concentration of 13.1-15.0 g/dl (P < 0.001), and 62.4 (21.8 to 116.7) per cent higher than those for patients with a Hb level greater than 15.0 g/dl (P < 0.001). Multivariable general linear modelling showed that packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusions were a principal cost driver in patients with a Hb concentration below 9.0 g/dl. Patients with the lowest Hb concentration incurred the highest hospital costs, which were strongly associated with increased PRBC transfusions. Costs and possible complications may be decreased by treating preoperative anaemia, particularly more severe anaemia.