Ambulatory Management of Anemia: A Retrospective View from an Italian Multidisciplinary Team

Anemia is one of the most prevalent clinic condition leading to a specialist medical consult. In 2014 our Internal Medicine unit started a Multidisciplinary Anemia Ambulatory (Internist, Immune-Hematologist, Hematologist) with the purpose to rapidly manage, diagnosis and treatment of anemic patients, giving a direct connection between general practitioners and hospital services. We treated and collected data on patients come to our attention in a tertiary care hospital in Genoa (Liguria), an area characterized by elderly population, which often carries more than one comorbidity with the purpose of better define the epidemiology of such a prevalent but underestimated issue. From January 1^st 2014 a total of 212 patients came to our attention for internist consult due to anemia: 165 female and 47 male, medium age 63,23 years (F 58,86, M 78,57, range 19-100). A precise classification of anemia was determined for 187 patients: 130 had iron deficiency anemia (IDA, 61,32%), 17 multifactorial anemia (inflammatory disorders, chronic kidney disease and combined deficiency, 8,02%), 16 combined deficiency anemia (iron and vitamins, 7,55%), 9 chronic kidney disease related anemia (4,25%), 7 anemia secondary to inflammatory chronic disorder (3,30%), 5 B12 deficiency (2,36%), 2 both folate and B12 deficiency (0,94%), 1 folate deficiency (0,47%). Twenty-five patients were not classified due to lack of data. Severity of anemia was defined according to WHO criteria: 53 patients (25%) presented mild anemia (Hb 129 - 110 g/L), 123 (58%) moderate anemia (Hb 109 - 80 g/L), 33 (15,6%) severe anemia (Hb < 80 g/L). Three patients were not anemic at the baseline evaluation. We considered comorbidities of internistic relevance, which could be worsened by anemia: cardiovascular (coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, heart failure), 30 patients; neurologic (ischemic and degenerative diseases), 19 patients; respiratory disease (COPD and asthma), 11 patients. Eleven patients had 2 comorbidities (cardiovascular and respiratory or neurological) and 3 patients had all three comorbidities. Patients were treated according to clinical practice in relation to type, severity and clinical manifestation of anemia. One hundred and thirty patients needed more than one access to ambulatory to correct anemia; data from the second access were: patient responders (normalization of Hb levels or improvement of at least 20 g/L): 78 patients; partial responders (improvement of Hb levels from 5 to 20 g/L): 34 patients; non responders: 18 patients. Fourteen patients needed at least 1 blood red cells transfusion, 12 with severe anemia and 2 with moderate anemia. A total of 93 patients needed deep diagnostic insight through specialist pathways, such as hematologic (4 patients), gastroenterologic (39 patients), gynecologic (37 patients), both gastroenterologic and gynecologic (13 patients). All patients were managed as outpatients, except for 8 patients which required hospitalization due to severity of clinical findings: 4 patients were hospitalized in Internal Medicine ward, 1 patients in Gynecology and 3 patients needed access through Emergency Care Unit. Among IDA patients, 92 were treated with intravenous iron supplement: 32 with sodium ferric gluconate (SFG) (medium 16,68 vials, range 8-43) and 50 with ferric carboxymaltose (FC) (medium 1,04 vials). Nine patients treated with SFG experienced allergic reaction, so they were switched to FC. Patients treated with SFG were successfully treated for 69,56% and 26,08% responded partially. One patient treated with FC experienced allergic reaction, so he was switched to oral therapy. FC patients fully responded in 76% and 22% were partial responders. These preliminary data shows that Multidisciplinary Anemia Ambulatory and its diagnostic-therapeutic path, with the involvement of different Specialists and Operative Unit, resulted in an improvement of the coordination and continuity of care, reducing sanitary cost in terms of hospitalization, drugs rationalization and quality of life for patients. More data will derive from the newborn Anemia Regional Register, which will lead to a better comprehension of the real size of anemia in our local epidemiology, in which health derived costs are rising together with ageing of the comorbid population which often needs longitudinal assistance, coordination and continuity of care.