Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2010; 16(15): 1867-1870
Published online Apr 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i15.1867
Incidence and risk factors for the development of anemia following gastric bypass surgery
Dimitrios V Avgerinos, Omar H Llaguna, Matthew Seigerman, Amanda J Lefkowitz, I Michael Leitman
Dimitrios V Avgerinos, Omar H Llaguna, Matthew Seigerman, Amanda J Lefkowitz, I Michael Leitman, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10003, United States
Author contributions: Leitman IM and Avgerinos DV conceived and designed the study; Seigerman M and Lefkowitz AJ carried out acquisition of data; Llaguna OH and Leitman IM carried out analysis and interpretation of data; Avgerinos DV and Llaguna OH drafted the manuscript; Leitman IM performed the critical revision.
Supported by The Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Medical Center
Correspondence to: I Michael Leitman, MD, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 10 Union Square East, Suite 2M, New York, NY 10003, United States. mleitman@chpnet.org
Telephone: +1-212-8448570 Fax: +1-212-8448440
Received: October 27, 2009
Revised: November 27, 2009
Accepted: December 4, 2009
Published online: April 21, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the incidence and risk factors for the development of anemia after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing RYGB from January 2003 to November 2007 was performed. All patients had a preoperative body mass index > 40 kg/m2. A total of 206 patients were evaluated. All patients were given daily supplements of ferrous sulfate tablets for 2 wk following their operation. Hematological and metabolic indices were routinely evaluated following surgery. Patients were followed for a minimum of 86 wk.

RESULTS: There were 41 males and 165 females with an average age of 40.8 years. 21 patients (10.2%) developed post-operative anemia and 185 patients (89.8%) did not. Anemia was due to iron deficiency in all cases. The groups had similar demographics, surgical procedure and co-morbidities. Menstruation (P = 0.02) and peptic ulcer disease (P = 0.01) were risk factors for the development of post-operative anemia.

CONCLUSION: Iron deficiency anemia is frequent. RYGB surgery compounds occult blood loss. Increased ferrous sulfate supplementation may prevent iron depletion in populations at increased risk.

Keywords: Anemia, Complication, Gastric bypass surgery, Obesity