Anaemia in patients undergoing major bowel surgery - Prevalence and current practice: A public and private institution experience.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The study aimed to compare the frequency and alignment of preoperative anaemia screening and treatment with Australian guidelines in elective bowel surgery and determine the impact on clinical outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study, with an audit of 559 adult patients who underwent major elective bowel surgery in an Australian metropolitan hospital, January 2016-December 2018. Outcome measures included rate of anaemia, guideline compliance, hospital length of stay, and transfusion rate. RESULTS: Preoperative anaemia assessment occurred in 82.6% of patients. However, only 5.2% received recommended biochemical tests at least one week before surgery. Only 25.2% of anaemic patients received preoperative treatment; they experienced a longer hospital length of stay (9.93 days versus 7.88 days, p < 0.001) and an increased rate of transfusion (OR 3.186, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The gaps between current preoperative anaemia screening, management and national guidelines may place patients at higher risk of poor surgical outcome.