Effect of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis on anemia in uremic patients.

The effect of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) on anemia was examined in 10 patients over a period of 6 mo. The mean hemoglobin levels in these patients did not change during this period and were not different from those of a group of 10 patients on hemodialysis. There were no changes in serum iron, iron saturation, serum haptoglobin, serum parathyroid hormone and red cell survival during this period. There was an inverse correlation between serum ferritin and hemoglobin levels. These studies show that CAPD is not associated with an improvement in anemia of uremic patients. Previous report on improvement in anemia most likely reflected the smaller loss of blood during CAPD compared with hemodialysis.