Anemia management in chronic hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is one of the most important consequences of chronic kidney disease. It is caused by a defect in erythropoietin regulation. Anemia can have an early onset, but the severity ant the prevalence increases with the progression the kidney disease. Purpose and Objective: To do a complex examination of the treatment of anemia in Republic of Moldova and the efficacy of the methods used in the hemodialysis departments. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study, analyzing the patient documentation of 47 patients from the department of Nephrology and Hemodialysis of the Municipal Hospital “St. Trinity” and from the department of Hemodialysis of the Republican Clinical Hospital. Results: In Republic of Moldova, Reocormom is used for the treatment of anemia in chronic hemodialysis patients. Neither of the 47 patients examined had been treated with the necessary dosage and for the right period of time due to financial problems. Only 5 of the 47 patients have reached the recommended targeted hemoglobin level. This could be the result of an inadequate dosage, a poor control of iron levels or because of an associated chronic disease, such as a chronic inflammation of the kidney or the urinary tract. Conclusions: Anemia is relative rare in the incipient stages of kidney disease (1-3 stages KDOQI). The prevalence of anemia starts to increase significantly when the glomerular filtrate rate < 60 mL/min. Iron level should be checked before administrating an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent.