Perioperative Management of Preoperative Anemia in Colorectal Cancer

Both preoperative anemia (PA) and perioperative blood transfusion can contribute on poorer outcomes after colon cancer surgery. Anemia is known to be associated with a slower recovery after surgery thus often worsening short-term results, and allogenic red blood cells transfusion (ARBT) are known to promote systemic inflammatory response and affect overall and cancer-specific survival.
Patient Blood Management (PBM) systems are an evidence-based multimodal approach focused on safe and rational use of blood products, mainly through a proper PA assessment, a minimization of procedural blood loos and strict transfusion policies. Given the high prevalence of PA in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), and its association with adverse events, it is expected that PBM implementation in said scenario carries a decrease in complications and an improved survival rate. Available literature to date supports preoperative anaemia screening and restrictive transfusion policies, nevertheless barriers exist that limit the expected implementation of PBM systems in colorectal surgery.
The present study aims to evaluate feasibility of a PBM pathway implementation in a high-volume CRC Surgery Unit based on completion of anemia screening and treatment before surgery and changes of allogenic products use along the years. The objective is to estimate the impact of a proper preoperative optimization with iron intravenous infusion (IVI) on PA measured from changes Hemoglobin (Hb) levels in comparison to those of non-anemic patients.