Background: Every third surgical patient already suffers from anemia before surgery. The main cause is iron deficiency.
Objective: This article describes the perioperative risk of iron deficiency with/without anemia and summarizes potential preventive measures.
Material and methods: Presentation of various current original papers, guidelines and own experiences from the German patient blood management network.
Results and conclusion: Preoperative iron deficiency with/without anemia is an underestimated risk factor for perioperative complications. The implementation of preoperative diagnostics and treatment as part of a comprehensive patient blood management reduces complications and increases patient safety.
Keywords: Complication prevention; Iron supplementation; Patient blood management; Perioperative complications; Preoperative anemia.