the effect of routine maintenance intravenous therapy on hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit during anesthesia in adults

objective: to investigate the decrease in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit during elective surgery. methods: this was a prospective study being performed in nemazee hospital of shiraz university of medical sciences. we included a total of 50 american society of anesthesiology (asa) i and ii patients undergoing elective minor surgeries. perioperative fluid administration was performed for all the patients and hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were measured three times: once before the operation, once one hour after start of operation and once in the recovery room. values were compared using paired sample t-test. results: the mean age of the patients and controls was 39.66 ± 8.27 years. hemoglobin level decreases significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). in the same way hematocrit level was decreased significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). conclusion: in this patient population undergoing elective minor operations, there was significant decrease in the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in response to the iv fluids administration.