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Abstract:

Objectives. Anaemia is an important clinical problem in older persons and the etiology is unknown in a significant number of patients. Aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of anaemia, the spectrum of underlying etiologies and the prevalence of unexplained anaemia (UA) in hospitalized older patients. Methods. We conducted a cohort study with retrospective data collection, including all patients aged > 75 years admitted to the geriatric ward of a university hospital between 01/01/2014 and 31/05/2014. Anemia was classified according to the WHO criteria. Demographic and clinical data, length of stay (LOS) and standard laboratory measures were compared between patients with a clear cause of anaemia (ACC) and those with UA. Results. Of the 203 included patients, 64% (n = 130) were anaemic. Anaemic patients had a mean age of 84.9 ± 5.4 years and were mostly female (63%). UA accounted for 19.2% of cases. The most common etiologies in ACC were chronic inflammation (33%), chronic kidney disease (13%) and iron deficiency anaemia (12%). Haemoglobin levels were lower (mean 10.0 ± SD 1.6 vs. 10.8 ± 1.0 g/dL; p= .006), platelet counts were higher (mean 268.2 SD ±103.5 vs. 212.2 ± 86.0 109/L; p= .015) and LOS was longer (mean 14.9 ± SD 9.6 vs. 10.6 ± 7.4 days; p= .04) in patients with ACC versus UA, respectively. Conclusions. This study confirms that anaemia and UA are common in hospitalized older patients. Anaemia is more severe and LOS is longer in patients with ACC than UA.