Treatment of anemia with epoetin in kidney transplant recipients.

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and efficacy of renal anemia treated with epoetin in maintenance kidney transplant recipients in Slovenia. By the end of 2009, 107 out of 537 patients (19.9%) had been treated with epoetin. A cohort of 49 patients (45.8%) were analyzed in detail: 11 patients received epoetin alpha, 18 epoetin beta, 10 darbepoetin alpha, and 10 patients received methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta. The median epoetin dose was 0.36 µg/kg body weight per week. The median serum laboratory parameters were as follows: hemoglobin 120 g/L, hematocrit 0.36, ferritin 332 ng/mL, transferrin saturation 34%, serum creatinine 145 µmol/L, serum albumin 41 g/L, intact parathyroid hormone 79 ng/L, and C-reactive protein 3 mg/L. We concluded that the prevalence of renal anemia in kidney transplant recipients treated with epoetin was approximately 20%, and laboratory parameters suggested that the treatment of renal anemia in this study cohort was optimal.