The Korean Clinical Research Center for End-Stage Renal Disease Study Validates the Association of Hemoglobin and Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent Dose with Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients

Cut-off values of haemoglobin and clinical outcomes in incident peritoneal dialysis: the PDTAP study

BACKGROUND

To explore the cut-off values of haemoglobin (Hb) on adverse clinical outcomes in incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients based on a national-level database.

METHODS

The observational cohort study was from the Peritoneal Dialysis Telemedicine-assisted Platform (PDTAP) dataset. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and modified MACE (MACE+). The secondary outcomes were the occurrences of hospitalization, first-episode peritonitis and permanent transfer to haemodialysis (HD).

RESULTS

A total of 2591 PD patients were enrolled between June 2016 and April 2019 and followed up until December 2020. Baseline and time-averaged Hb <100 g/l were associated with all-cause mortality, MACE, MACE+ and hospitalizations. After multivariable adjustments, only time-averaged Hb <100 g/l significantly predicted a higher risk for all-cause mortality {hazard ratio [HR] 1.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-281], P = .006}, MACE [HR 1.99 (95% CI 1.16-3.40), P = .012] and MACE+ [HR 1.77 (95% CI 1.15-2.73), P = .010] in the total cohort. No associations between Hb and hospitalizations, transfer to HD and first-episode peritonitis were observed. Among patients with Hb ≥100 g/l at baseline, younger age, female, use of iron supplementation, lower values of serum albumin and renal Kt/V independently predicted the incidence of Hb <100 g/l during the follow-up.

CONCLUSION

This study provided real-world evidence on the cut-off value of Hb for predicting poorer outcomes through a nation-level prospective PD cohort.

Investigating the relationship between erythropoiesis-stimulating agents and mortality in hemodialysis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In recent years, various studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and mortality in hemodialysis patients, who showed contradictory results. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between ESAs and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

METHODS

The current study is a systematic review and meta-analysis based on observational and interventional studies published in the Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases between 1980 and the end of 2022. Jadad scale checklist and Newcastle Ottawa scale were used to evaluate the quality of articles. The study data were analyzed using Stata 15 software.

RESULTS

In the initial search, 3933 articles were extracted, and by screening and considering the research criteria, 68 studies were finally included in the meta-analysis. According to the meta-analysis results, the risk ratio (RR) of overall mortality in hemodialysis patients receiving ESAs was equal to 1.19 (95% CI: 1.16-1.23, P ≤ 0.001). The RR of mortality in patients aged 60 years and under was equal to 1.33 (1.15-1.55, P ≤ 0.001), in the age group over 60 years was equal to 1.13 (1.10-1.16, P ≤ 0.001), in randomized clinical trial studies was equal to 1.06 (0.80-1.40, P = 0.701), in cohort studies was equal to 1.20 (1.16-1.25, P ≤ 0.001), in American countries was equal to 1.19 (1.10-1.29, P ≤ 0.001), in Asian countries was equal to 1.15 (1.10-1.19, P ≤ 0.001), and in European countries was equal to 1.18 (1.05-1.34, P = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

The results of the study show that receiving ESAs is associated with a 19% increase in the risk of overall mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Relationship Between Peritoneal Protein Clearance and Hemoglobin in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

The relationship between higher peritoneal protein clearance (PPCl) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is unknown. We explored this relationship and interaction on all-cause mortality in this prospective cohort study with a large number of PD patients.

METHODS

We enrolled prevalent PD patients in a single PD center. Demographic characteristics and clinical and biochemical data were collected. The total amount of protein loss in the dialysate and PPCl corrected for serum albumin were calculated. The primary study endpoint was all-cause mortality. We examined the relationship between PPCl, Hb, and all-cause mortality in the Cox regression model.

RESULTS

We included a total of 487 PD patients (58.3% males, mean age 49.5 ± 14.9 years). The median PD duration at enrollment was 30.1 (15.8-48.3) months. Mean Hb level was 11.1 ± 1.9 g/dL, and 221 (45.3%) patients had Hb levels <11 g/dL. Patients with Hb < 11 g/dL had lower serum albumin, lower residual renal creatinine clearance, and higher PPCl. In a multilinear regression model, PPCl (β = -0.12, P = .015) had an independent negative linear association with Hb levels. In the logistic regression model, higher PPCl was independently associated with lower Hb (<11 g/dL) (odds ratio = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.03). In the overall cohort, after adjusting for confounders in the Cox regression model, decrease in Hb level was independently associated with increased risk (hazard ratio: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.77-0.95) of all-cause mortality. Interaction-effect test showed that PPCl influenced the relationship between Hb level and all-cause mortality (P = .011). After adjusting for confounders, lower Hb level was independently associated with a higher risk (hazard ratio: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74-0.97) of all-cause mortality only in patients with PPCl ≥59.5 mL/day and not in patients with lower PPCl.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher PPCl was an independent predictive factor of lower Hb levels in PD patients. Therefore, PPCl influenced the relationship between Hb level and all-cause mortality in PD patients.

The Impact of CKD Anaemia on Patients: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Outcomes-A Systematic Literature Review

Anaemia is a common consequence of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, the risk factors for its development and its impact on outcomes have not been well synthesised. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review to fully characterise the risk factors associated with the presence of anaemia in patients with CKD and a contemporary synthesis of the risks of adverse outcomes in patients with CKD and anaemia. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from 2002 until 2018 for studies reporting the incidence or prevalence of anaemia and associated risk factors and/or associations between haemoglobin (Hb) or anaemia and mortality, major adverse cardiac events (MACE), hospitalisation, or CKD progression in adult patients with CKD. Extracted data were summarised as risk factors related to the incidence or prevalence of anaemia or the risk (hazard ratio (HR)) of outcome by Hb level (<10, 10-12, >12 g/dL) in patients not on dialysis and in those receiving dialysis. 191 studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. The risk factor most associated with the prevalence of anaemia was CKD stage, followed by age and sex. Mean HRs (95% CI) for all-cause mortality in patients with CKD on dialysis with Hb <10, 10-12, and >12 g/dL were 1.56 (1.43-1.71), 1.17 (1.09-1.26), and 0.91 (0.87-0.96), respectively. Similar patterns were observed for nondialysis patients and for the risks of hospitalisation, MACE, and CKD progression. This is the first known systematic review to quantify the risk of adverse clinical outcomes based on Hb level in patients with CKD. Anaemia was consistently associated with greater mortality, hospitalisation, MACE, and CKD progression in patients with CKD, and risk increased with anaemia severity. Effective treatments that not only treat the anaemia but also reduce the risk of adverse clinical outcomes are essential to help reduce the burden of anaemia and its management in CKD.

Real-world treatment patterns of renal anemia in hemodialysis patients: A multicenter cohort study performed using DialysisNet (RRAHD study)

A multicenter cohort study.The DialysisNet was previously developed for the management of hemodialysis (HD) patients based on the American Society for Testing and Materials Continuity of Care Records by metadata transformation. DialysisNet is a dialysis patient management program created by using the personal health record care platform to overcome the problems of registry studies, in real-time.Here, we aimed to investigate the pattern of treatment for renal anemia in HD patients using DialysisNet.We performed a multicenter cohort study among HD patients who were treated at one of the three Korean university-affiliated hospitals from January 2016 to December 2016. Subjects were divided into 4 hemoglobin variability groups by quartiles. The variable anemia treatment pattern was reviewed. To determine renal anemia treatment patterns, we automatically collected information on the practice of anemia treatment patterns such as erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA) doses and administration frequencies, and targeted hemoglobin maintenance rate. Individual hemoglobin variabilities were expressed as (standard deviations)/(√(n/[n-1]).The records of 159 patients were analyzed (Hospital A: 35, Hospital B: 21, Hospital C: 103). Mean patients' age was 65.6 ± 12.8 years, and 61.6% were men. Overall, hemoglobin level was 10.5[7.43;13.93] g/dL. 158 (99.3%) patients were using ESA; and overall, the epoetin alfa dose was 33,000[4000;136,800] U per week. Hemoglobin levels (P = .206) and epoetin alfa doses were similar (P = .924) for patients with different hemoglobin variabilities. The hemoglobin target maintenance rate was lower in the highest hemoglobin variability group than in the lowest variability group (P = .045).In this study, detailed information on the actual anemia treatment patterns were obtained using the DialysisNet. We expect that DialysisNet will simplify and improve the renal anemia management for both dialysis patients and health care providers.

Increased mortality in haemodialysis patients administered high doses of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: a propensity score-matched analysis

Background

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are widely used to treat anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. The issue of ESA safety has been raised in multiple studies, with correlates derived for elevated cancer incidence and mortality. Whether these associations are related to ESA dose or the typology of the patient remains obscure.

Methods

A multicentre, observational retrospective propensity score-matched study was designed to analyse the effects of weekly ESA dose in 1679 incident haemodialysis (HD) patients. ESA administration was according to standard medical practice. Patients were grouped as quintiles, according to ESA dose, in order to compare mortality and hospitalization data. Using propensity score matching (PSM), we defined two groups of 324 patients receiving weekly threshold ESA doses of either > or ≤8000 IU.

Results

Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated significant increases in the risk of mortality in patients administered with high doses of ESAs (>8127.4 IU/week). Multivariate Cox models identified a high ESA dose as an independent predictor for all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Moreover, logistic regression models identified high ESA doses as an independent predictor for all-cause, CV and infectious hospitalization. PSM analyses confirmed that weekly ESA doses of >8000 IU constitute an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and hospitalization, even though the adjusted cohort displayed the same demographic features, inflammatory profile, clinical HD parameters and haemoglobin levels.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that ESA doses of >8000 IU/week are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and hospitalization in HD patients.

Usefulness of mid-week hemoglobin measurement for anemia management in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Short-term hemoglobin (Hb) variability related to volume status is observed in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients receiving hemodialysis (HD). Given the lack of studies regarding outcomes according to the day of Hb sampling, the existing guidelines do not strongly recommend regarding measurement timing. Pre-dialysis mid-week sampling (Wednesday and Thursday) is preferable to minimize short-term Hb variability, although numerous HD centers perform early-week sampling (Monday and Tuesday). The different measurement days may influence the prescribed dose of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) and related patient outcomes. We investigated changes in Hb levels and ESA doses according to the Hb measurement day among HD patients.

Methods

Starting September 2013, the day for pre-dialysis Hb measurement at the Asan Medical Center was changed from early-week days to mid-week days. This single-center retrospective study evaluated medical records of 92 patients who received maintenance HD between September 2012 and August 2014.

Results

There was no significant difference in the mean Hb levels between early-week days and mid-week days (10.71 ± 0.06 g/dL vs. 10.78 ± 0.47 g/dL, p = 0.105). However, the mean doses of darbepoetin-α on early-week days were higher than those on mid-week days (175.4 ± 72.5 μg/month vs. 163.7 ± 83.6 μg/month, p = 0.022). The mean doses of intravenous iron hydroxide sucrose for early-week measurements were also higher than those for mid-week measurements (623.0 ± 489.0 mg/year vs. 447.0 ± 505.2 mg/year, p = 0.001). The mean interdialytic weight gains were 2.81 ± 0.82 kg on early-week days and 1.99 ± 0.61 kg on mid-week days (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Compared with early-week measurements, mid-week pre-dialysis Hb measurements were significantly associated with lower ESA doses without a change in Hb levels.

Hemoglobin targets for the anemia in patients with dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Anemia is extremely common among dialysis patients and underlies some of the symptoms associated with reduced kidney function, including fatigue, depression, reduced exercise tolerance, and dyspnea.

OBJECTIVES

A clearer cognition of the prognosistic impact of hemoglobin (Hb) or hematocrit (Hct) target for the outcomes of dialysis patients is urgent. This article aims to establish the suitable hemoglobin in order to provide clinical guidance.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EmBase, the Cochrane Library and other databases were searched with both MeSH terms and keywords to gather randomized controlled trials that assessed all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, fistula thrombosis, infectious diseases and transfusion among dialysis-dependent patients using erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. The meta-analysis was accomplished via Revman 5.3 version.

FINDINGS

Totally, nine eligible studies were included, with study subjects involving 3228 patients. There was a significantly higher risk of fistula thrombosis without heterogeneity (RR 1.34, 95% CI 1.15-1.55; p < 0.05) in the higher Hb target group than in the lower Hb target group in the fixed effects model. However, no significant difference was found in all-cause mortality in the fixed effects model (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.93-1.27; p = 0.30), cardiovascular events (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.31-1.92; p = 0.58), infectious diseases (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.24-1.96; p = 0.49) and transfusion (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.42-1.99; p = 0.82) in the random effects model between the higher Hb target group and the lower Hb target group.

DISCUSSION

The results favor lower Hb target. To target lower Hb target when treating dialysis patients with anemia may decrease the risk of fistula thrombosis without increasing the risk of death, cardiovascular events, infectious diseases and transfusion.

Relationship between Hemoglobin Levels Corrected by Interdialytic Weight Gain and Mortality in Japanese Hemodialysis Patients: Miyazaki Dialysis Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Although hemoglobin (Hb) levels are affected by a change in the body fluid status, the relationship between Hb levels and mortality while taking interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) at blood sampling into account has not yet been examined in hemodialysis patients.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING, PARTICIPANTS

Data from the Miyazaki Dialysis cohort study, including 1375 prevalent hemodialysis patients (median age (interquartile range), 69 (60-77) years, 42.3% female).

PREDICTOR

Patients were divided into 5 categories according to baseline Hb levels and two groups based on the median value of IDWG rates at blood sampling at pre-HD on the first dialysis session of the week.

OUTCOMES

All-cause and cardiovascular mortalities during a 3-year follow-up.

MEASUREMENTS

Hazard ratios were estimated using a Cox model for the relationship between Hb categories and mortality, and adjusted for potential confounders such as age, sex, dialysis duration, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent dosage, Kt/V, comorbid conditions, anti-hypertensive drug use, serum albumin, serum C-reactive protein, serum ferritin, and serum intact parathyroid hormone. Patients with Hb levels of 9-9.9 g/dL were set as our reference category.

RESULTS

A total of 246 patients (18%) died of all-cause mortality, including 112 cardiovascular deaths. Lower Hb levels (<9.0g/dL) were associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted HRs 2.043 [95% CI, 1.347-3.009]), while Hb levels were not associated with cardiovascular mortality. When patients were divided into two groups using the median value of IDWG rates (high IDWG, ≥5.4% and low IDWG, <5.4%), the correlation between lower Hb levels and all-cause mortality disappeared in high IDWG patients, but was maintained in low IDWG patients (adjusted HRs 3.058 [95% CI,1.575-5.934]). On the other hand, higher Hb levels (≥12g/dL) were associated with cardiovascular mortality in high IDWG patients (adjusted HRs 2.724 [95% CI, 1.010-7.349]), but not in low IDWG patients.

CONCLUSION

In hemodialysis patients, target Hb levels may need to be selected in consideration of IDWG at blood sampling.