Hematological profile of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in Iran, in pre-dialysis stages and after initiation of hemodialysis.

Anemia is a common sequealae of chronic kidney disease (CKD), associated with significant morbidity. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 CKD patients (54 hemodialyzed, 46 pre-dialyzed). Data including, complete blood count, BUN, creatinine, creatinine clearance, underlying diseases and hemodialysis duration were collected by a questionnaire. The most frequent morphologic features were normochromic-normocytic (80%), hypochromic-microcytic (15%) and macrocytic (5%). The frequency of anemia in hemodialyzed and pre-dialyzed patients (with mean Hgb level of 10.27 and 11.11 g/dL) were 85% and 75%. Hemoglobin concentration was positively correlated to calculated creatinine clearance (P < 0.001). The severity of anemia among hemodialyzed patients was mild (Hgb > 10 g/dL) in 5%, moderate in 70% and severe (Hgb < 7 g/dL) in 25%, while in pre-dialyzed was mild in 45% and moderate in 55%. There was no correlation between the anemia and CKD causes or hemodialysis duration. In conclusion, data shows that anemia in our patients with CKD is a predominant manifestation, with high frequency but of moderate degree. The most likely cause is inadequate erythropoietin production.