Undiagnosed Anemia Among Hospitalized Elderly Patients

Background and aim: All over the world, anemia is one of the most common blood disorder associated with several health problems including low physical and cognitive performance, worse clinical outcomes and increased risk of morbidity and mortality especially among elderly hospitalized patients.The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of previously undiagnosed anemia among hospitalized elderly patients who aged 60 years and older.Method: This study is a prospective population-based observational study of all elderly patients admitted at King Abdul-Aziz hospital in Taif city of Saudi Arabia.The study conducted from January 2020 to January 2021.A total of 66 elderly patients who have newly diagnosed as anemic and agreed to participate in the study were investigated to confirm their diagnosis with anemia.Results: The results of this study showed that 66 of hospitalized elderly patients were detected with low hemoglobin level and never diagnosed previously.Low MCV and Low MCH were detected in the results of 21 anemic patients.Thus, these patients were identified with microcytic hypochromic anemia.Moreover, the serum iron level for those patients were investigated and showed low result compared to control individuals.Conclusion: High number of elderly patients who, admitted to the hospital at the study period were newly diagnosed with anemia, out of those 31.8%were reported with microcytic hypochromic anemia.This study suggested that regular clinical checkup and early diagnosis of anemia among elderly are important factors to reduce or prevent the incidence of many serious health problem associated with this disorder.