Oral iron therapy for anaemia after orthopaedic surgery: randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Oral iron therapy is often used after orthopaedic surgery to improve haemoglobin levels. The aim of the present trial was to determine if administration of oral iron after orthopaedic surgery results in a better improvement of haemoglobin levels than a control treatment.

Methods: This was a double blind randomized controlled trial at a tertiary referral orthopaedic centre. The participants were patients undergoing elective hip or knee replacement surgery with normal iron and folic acid stores and no history of iron deficiency, and the primary outcome was the haemoglobin level 10 weeks after surgery.

Results: At 10 weeks the mean +/- SD haemoglobin in the iron group was 132.8 +/- 13.4 g/L and in the control group it was 128.0 +/- 10.6 g/L, a difference of 4.8 g/L with a 95% confidence interval for the difference of -1.2 to 10.7 g/l, P = 0.12.

Conclusions: Iron taken after elective hip or knee replacement surgery does not result in higher haemoglobin 10 weeks after surgery, or a faster rate of increase in haemoglobin than a control treatment.