Iron Supplementation for Anemia After Hip Fracture Surgery?

Some clinicians routinely prescribe iron supplements to patients with perioperative blood loss. To determine the value of this practice, a U.K. researcher identified 300 hip fracture patients whose mean hemoglobin levels were 12.6 g/dL preoperatively and 9.9 g/dL postoperatively. Patients were randomized to iron supplementation (ferrous sulfate, 200 mg twice daily for 1 month) or to no supplementation; hemoglobin levels were re-measured at 6 weeks.

Mean rises in hemoglobin at 6 weeks were 2.1 g/dL in the iron group and 1.8 g/dL in the no-iron group — a nonsignificant difference. Seventeen percent of iron recipients reported adverse gastrointestinal effects.