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The epidemiology and control of anaemia among pre-ESRD patients with chronic kidney disease.

McClellan WM, Jurkovitz C, Abramson J

Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30346, USA. bmcclell@gmcf.org

Anaemia is a common condition among pre-end-stage renal disease (pre-ESRD) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Indeed, data from clinical studies indicate that anaemia may be present in as many as two-thirds of such patients. Use of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) provides an effective means of correcting anaemia in CKD patients and helps to reduce the risk of renal disease progression and related problems. Unfortunately, EPO therapy is underutilized in these persons. Consequently, anaemia remains a major problem in the pre-ESRD CKD population. Evidence suggests that anaemia in the presence of CKD can lead to an increased risk of a number of adverse outcomes, including mortality, progression of kidney disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, hospitalization, and decreases in quality of life. Anaemia's association with these adverse outcomes suggests that effective treatment of anaemia in pre-ESRD CKD patients is of great importance and that substantial efforts should be made to ensure that these patients receive appropriate therapy to correct anaemia.

Published 11 November 2005 in Eur J Clin Invest, 35: 58-65.
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