Table 1.

Characteristics of the Patients Included in the Study

Mean age, y*	68.7±16.6
Female, %	44.8
Mean hemoglobin at admission, g/L*	125.6±18.2
Mean hematocrit at admission, %*	37.2±5.3
Mean volume of phlebotomy, mL*	74.6±52.1
Mean length of stay, days*	5.6±4.2
	Prevalence of anemia at hospital admission, %
Women	40.9
Men	49.8
Proportion of patients with chronic disease that may cause anemia, %	42.1
Proportion of patients who became anemic during admission, %†	15.8
Proportion of patients with CCI of 0, 1, or ≥2, respectively, %	30.7, 20.1, 49.3
	Most common discharge diagnoses, %
Pneumonia	19.9
Acute coronary syndrome	11.1
Congestive heart failure	6.4
Chest pain with no cause identified	4.7
Stroke syndrome	4.4

^*Mean±SD; divide by 10 to convert g/L to g/dL

^†Anemia was defined as <120 g/L in women and <130 g/L in men²⁶

CCI, Charlson comorbidity index