Iron deficiency is highly prevalent among candidates for metabolic surgery and may impact perioperative outcomes

Iron deficiency (ID) with or without its associated anemia is very common in chronic diseases with inflammatory features such as obesity.1,2 However, traditional definitions for ID based solely on low levels of serum ferritin or iron as diagnostic thresholds fail to account for perturbations in these parameters due to chronic inflammation. For example, ferritin is an acute phase reactant, and in conditions where inflammation and iron deficiency co-exist, serum ferritin may rise into the normal range and no longer be an accurate predictor of body iron stores.
Source: Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Original articles Source Type: research