Background: Low preoperative haemoglobin is frequently observed in heart surgery patients and is associated with a significant decrease in haemoglobin between post-operative days 2 and 3, known as haemoglobin drift. Overall, these patients tend to receive many RBC transfusions. Since iron homeostasis is often impaired in these patients, restoration of iron availability might override iron-restricted erythropoiesis. However, reduced tolerance to oral iron salts has limited this strategy to intravenous iron administration.
Study design and methods: The purpose of this study was to assess whether preoperative supplementation with oral sucrosomial iron, a new iron-delivery technology with improved tolerance and bioavailability, might be an effective strategy for this patient population. One thousand consecutive patients were randomized and received either a one-month course of sucrosomial iron (60 mg/day) or no treatment prior to elective heart surgery at a single high-volume centre (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03560687). Primary end-points were haemoglobin concentration on the day of hospital admittance and number of blood transfusions. Secondary end-points were haemoglobin drift, tolerance of treatment and cost-effectiveness of sucrosomial iron administration.
Results: Baseline haemoglobin in the treatment group was higher (by 0.67 g/dL; p<0.001) than that in the control group. The percentage of patients in the treatment group who required transfusion (35.4%) was half that in the control group (64.6%). The average number of transfused units per operation was 0.95 vs. 2.03 in the treatment and control groups, respectively. Haemoglobin drift was substantially similar in the two groups, and the tolerability of treatment was excellent (98%). The overall cost of treatment was 156 Euros less in the treatment group, expressed as a raw cost of transfusion.
Conclusion: In elective heart surgery, routine preoperative sucrosomial iron administration seems to be a safe, well-tolerated and cost-effective strategy to increase preoperative haemoglobin and reduce the need for allogeneic blood transfusions.