Intravenous iron isomaltoside 1000 (Monofer(®)) reduces postoperative anaemia in preoperatively non-anaemic patients undergoing elective or subacute coronary artery bypass graft, valve replacement or a combination thereof: the PROTECT trial

This prospective double-blind placebo-controlled randomised single-centre trial reports that, in non-anaemic patients undergoing non-emergent cardiac surgery, a single administration of 1000 mg of intravenous iron isomaltoside the day of surgery or the day before is associated with a moderate but significant increase of the haemoglobin concentration 4 week after the procedure. It also significantly reduces the number of patients exhibiting anaemia at that time. Although there was no difference in the incidence of side effects between groups, the study was not powered to assess the safety profile of this intravenous iron formulation.

The possible beneficial clinical effects reported by this exploratory trial need to be confirmed in larger prospective randomised studies.

– Philippe Van der Linden