VIDEO: Anemia treatment ‘inadequate’ in non-dialysis CKD
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In this video, Jay B. Wish, MD, professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, discussed the insufficiency of current anemia treatment for non-dialysis-dependent patients with chronic kidney disease.
An international study presented at ASN Kidney Week reported on the cumulative incidence of three major anemia treatments (oral iron, intravenous iron and ESAs) among patients from Brazil, Germany and the U.S.
“What they found is that ... the treatment of anemia in non-dialysis CKD patients is inadequate,” Wish, co-chair of the Nephrology News & Issues Editorial Advisory Board, said.
Wish reported the study found that of patients who had hemoglobin levels less than 10, 30% received an ESA, 10% received IV iron and about 15% received oral iron. He explained that it was ‘somewhat alarming’ that some nephrologists may not be intervening enough to address anemia, especially when an intervention like oral iron is easy for patients to pick up at the drug store.
“[Treatment is] inadequate to a certain extent because of the relevant lack of efficacy in certain subpopulations, but it’s also inadequate because it’s not being sufficiently prescribed. And, perhaps in many cases, the compliance by the patients is suboptimal because they’re not adequately educated in terms of the importance of taking these medications to improve their anemia, get their hemoglobin up to a more ‘comfortable range’ that may improve quality of life, decrease transfusion requirements and perhaps decrease overall morbidity and mortality,” Wish said. “This is something that was not shocking, but it was certainly interesting to see this validated not only for what we know in the United States, but in other parts of the world.”
Collapse
Lopes M, et al. #TH-OR10. Presented at: ASN Kidney Week. Oct. 22-25 (virtual meeting).
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts