Hb levels in randomized patients at baseline and after vascular surgery. The graph shows the mean daily lowest Hb measurement between the day before surgery (preoperative), during surgery (intraoperative), on arrival in the recovery room (or intensive care unit), and on the first to fifteenth postoperative day followed by the Hb level at follow-up (day 30). Bars indicate ± standard error of the mean. The table below shows the number of patients with available Hb measurements each day. A graph with a separate panel for patients randomized before and after surgery are presented in supplemental Figure 2.