SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.110 issue1Analysis and comparison of cumulative antibiograms for the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital adult intensive care and high-care units, 2013 and 2017The burden of depression and anxiety among medical students in South Africa: A cross-sectional survey at the University of Cape Town author indexsubject indexarticles search
Home Pagealphabetic serial listing  

Services on Demand

Article

Indicators

Related links

  • On index processCited by Google
  • On index processSimilars in Google

Share


SAMJ: South African Medical Journal

On-line version ISSN 2078-5135
Print version ISSN 0256-9574

Abstract

CONRADIE, W S et al. A multicentre prospective observational study of the prevalence of preoperative anaemia and iron deficiency in adult elective surgical patients in hospitals in Western Cape Province, South Africa. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2020, vol.110, n.1, pp.65-68. ISSN 2078-5135.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/samj.2020.v110i1.14051.

BACKGROUND. Preoperative anaemia has been shown to be an independent risk factor for postoperative morbidity and mortality. Iron deficiency is the leading cause of anaemia globally. There are limited data describing the burden of perioperative anaemia and the relative contribution of iron deficiency in South Africa (SA).OBJECTIVES. To determine the prevalence and severity of preoperative anaemia in adults presenting for elective surgery in Western Cape Province, SA, and to investigate the contribution of iron deficiency as a cause of the anaemia. For this purpose, an investigative protocol from a recent consensus statement on the management of perioperative anaemia was applied.METHODS. We performed a prospective, observational study in adult patients presenting for elective non-cardiac, non-obstetric surgery over a 5-day period at six Western Cape government-funded hospitals. The World Health Organization patient classification was applied, and patients with anaemia were investigated for iron deficiency.RESULTS. The prevalence of preoperative anaemia was 28% (105/375; 95% confidence interval (CI) 23.5 - 32.5); 55/105 patients (52%) had moderate and 11/105 (11%) severe anaemia. Iron deficiency was the cause of anaemia in 37% (32/87; 95% CI 26.6 - 46.9), but only 9% of iron-deficient patients received iron supplementation prior to surgery.CONCLUSIONS. Preoperative anaemia was common in this study, and more than half of the affected patients had moderate to severe anaemia. Iron deficiency was responsible for almost 40% of cases. Iron supplementation was under-utilised in the preoperative period as a means of increasing haemoglobin. The introduction of system-wide policies would empower perioperative physicians to mitigate the risk associated with preoperative anaemia in the Western Cape.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )

 

Creative Commons License All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License