Resistance of dialyzed patients to erythropoietin

• Main Authors: Michelle Teodoro Alves, Sandra Simone Vilaça, Maria das Graças Carvalho, Ana Paula Fernandes, Luci Maria Sant'Ana Dusse, Karina Braga Gomes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2015-06-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia
• Subjects: Dialysis; Erythropoietin; Iron
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-84842015000300190&lng=en&tlng=en

Resistance to recombinant human erythropoietin is a common condition in dialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease and is associated with more hospitalizations, increased mortality and frequent blood transfusions. The main cause of hyporesponsiveness to recombinant human erythropoietin in these patients is iron deficiency. However, a high proportion of patients does not respond to treatment, even to the use of intravenous iron, which indicates the presence of other important causes of resistance. In addition to the iron deficiency, the most common causes of resistance include inflammation, infection, malnutrition, inadequate dialysis, and hyperparathyroidism, although other factors may be associated. In the presence of adequate iron stores, other causes should be investigated and treated appropriately.