Background and objective: We evaluated the capacity of oral iron with or without oral folic acid administration to improve the accomplishment of our scheduled preoperative autologous blood collection program in patients with baseline hemoglobin > 115 g/l.
Patients and method: Patients were enrolled in a randomized trial. The control group received no vitamin supplements. The iron group received 105 mg of elemental iron daily p.o. The and iron+folate group received 105 mg of elemental iron daily and 5 mg of folic acid daily p.o.
Results: Eighty-six percent of patients in the control group, 86% of patients in the iron group and 87% of patients in the iron+folate group accomplished our preoperative autologous blood collection program.
Conclusion: In our study, neither oral iron nor folic acid supplements enhanced the accomplishment of our preoperative autologous blood collection program in patients with baseline hemoglobin > 115 g/l.