Investigating the prevalence of hospital-acquired anaemia in a United Kingdom (UK) secondary care setting to describe the level of appropriate management prior to discharge back to primary care.
Design and settingsAn observational study of 13 medical and surgical wards in a UK district general hospital.
MethodSingle-day examination of notes, blood results and drug charts, with a 30-day follow up, using pre-set definitions of anaemia and exclusion criteria.
ResultsTwo hundred and sixty-seven patients were included. Of them, 52% were anaemic on admission, 62.2% were anaemic on the study day, 16% had hospital-acquired anaemia and 49%-82% had no biochemical indices checked during the admission or in the last 12 months. Also, 53% of anaemic patients are being discharged without appropriate treatment, with over a third being under-investigated.
ConclusionThe prevalence of anaemia in a UK district general hospital is high. Causes of anaemia are complex, posing a potentially modifiable risk factor for falls, readmission and mortality.