[Intravenous iron in general surgery]

Preoperative anemia is the main cause of blood transfusion in surgical patients. In digestive surgery high blood loss and allogenic blood transfusion (ABT) are associated with serious adverse events and higher mortality. Consequently, we believe that intravenous iron administration is justified to correct perioperative anemia. We present the case of a woman with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma in whom intravenous iron administration avoided the use of ABT. Subsequently, the iron metabolism profile improved. This had previously corresponded to a mixed pattern of iron deficiency, that is, to the association of organic and functional iron deficiency.