Preoperative Anaemia and Early Postoperative Complications After Major Gastrointestinal Surgery

This prospective observational cohort study evaluated the association betweenpreoperative anaemia and early postoperative morbidity in adults undergoing majorgastrointestinal surgery at the University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece. Consecutivepatients undergoing elective or urgent open or laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery wereenrolled. Preoperative anaemia was defined as haemoglobin <13.0 g/dL in men and <12.0g/dL in non‐pregnant women. Patients were followed from surgery until hospital dischargeor postoperative day 8, whichever occurred first. The primary outcome was anypostoperative complication during this period. Secondary outcomes were majorpostoperative complications, defined as Clavien‐Dindo grade III or higher, and dischargebeyond the expected recovery period. The study also evaluated whether the associationbetween preoperative anaemia and postoperative morbidity persisted after accounting forcomorbidity, urgency of surgery, and surgical risk.