Optimizing preoperative haemoglobin with intravenous iron

despite the limitations of any observational study, and the need to be confirmed in a prospective trial, determination of functional status, other than transferrin saturation, seems to be of greater help to the clinician for indicating iron in this population, and provide a more reliable prediction of efficacy than other iron deficiency-related measures. Although we believe that it is necessary to determine ferritin concentration levels, because it provides information on the patient’s iron stores and excludes those with high levels before i.v. iron is administered, we suggest incorporating functional parameters in the preoperative workup as an aid to deciding the appropriateness of this treatment.