Hospital-acquired anemia

The incidence and etiologies of hospital-acquired anemia has not been well defined A prospective study was conducted to determine the incidence and etiologies of hospital-acquired anemia developed in patients admitted in the medical ward of a tertiary care university hospital.

All non-anemic (hemoglobin (Hb) > or = 13 g/dl in male, > or = 12 g/dl in female) patients who were admitted to the general medical wards for at least 1 week, between March 2001 to October 2001, were included in the present study. Outcome of interest was anemia developed during hospital stay. The total volume of blood collected for investigations were recorded.

Of the 98 evaluable patients, 64 (65.3%) developed anemia. Thirty-five percent of the patients had mild anemia (Hb > 10.0 g/dl) and 7% had severe anemia (Hb < or = 8.0 g/dl). Anemia of chronic disease was the most common cause found in 57.4% of anemic patients. Mean total volume of blood collected for investigation was higher in the anemic compared with the non-anemic group (147.0 ml vs. 52.0 ml, p < 0.05). Total volume of investigational blood also correlated significantly with degree of anemia (r = 0.638, p < 0.05).

Anemia was a common complication occurring in almost two-thirds of patients admitted to the hospital. Even though anemia of chronic disease was the leading cause, investigational blood loss was also an important contributing factor.