BACKGROUND:Patients with anemia undergoing elective colorectal cancer surgery are known to have significantly higher rates of postoperative complications and worse outcomes.
OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to improve rates of anemia screening and treatment in patients undergoing elective colon and rectal resections through a quality improvement initiative.
DESIGN:We compared a historical cohort of patients before implementation of our anemia screening and treatment quality improvement program to a prospective cohort after implementation.
SETTINGS:This study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital.
PATIENTS:This study included all adult patients with a new diagnosis of colon or rectal cancer without evidence of metastatic disease between 2017 and 2019.
INTERVENTIONS:The interventions include the anemia screening and treatment quality improvement program.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The primary outcome was hospital cost per admission.
RESULTS:This study includes a total of 84 patients who underwent elective colon or rectal resection before See editorial on page 1293.