"You've given us all a lot to think about" - a randomized controlled trial regarding intravenous iron does not go 'as expected'.

"I mean, look, I've built my entire career on thinking this was the best thing since sliced bread, the silver bullet, the magic wand ..."

A great scientist follows accurate data to wherever it may lead, what now? More trials, more time, more questions? How common is anemia? Are there any nuggets of hope buried within these data? What have we learned?

Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine sticks to the facts and there's nothing more important than data; make sure you listen to the end, there are interesting details that give many a sense of optimism.

Preoperative intravenous iron to treat anaemia before major abdominal surgery (PREVENTT): a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial is here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31539-7/fulltext

Toby is a popular contributor to TopMedTalk - check out his earlier piece here: https://www.topmedtalk.com/prato-2019-toby-richards/

Presented by Monty Mythen and Mike Grocott with their guest Toby Richards, Professor, Anaesthesia Teaching & Research Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Central Clinical School, Monash University.