[A study of anemia in 86 patients on hemodialysis (author's transl)].

Anemia is one of the complications of terminal chronic renal failure that may worsen with periodical hemodialysis because of residual blood losses in the dialyzers that may be significant if clotting occurs within the circulation system. The potential iron deficiency component of the anemia has been studied in 86 patients submitted to periodic hemodialysis by measurement of hemoglobin, serum iron, transferrin saturation, total iron binding capacity, and ferritin. The following correlations were investigated: degree of anemia and type of renal disease, months on hemodialysis and hemoglobin, months on hemodialysis and serum ferritin, and liters of blood transfused and serum ferritin. Statistically significant correlations were found between months on hemodialysis and hemoglobin, and between liters of blood transfused and serum ferritin. From the correlation between serum iron and ferritin the patients could be classified in three groups: 1, with either normal or low serum iron and ferritin, candidates to iron therapy; 2, with elevated serum iron and ferritin, needing no iron treatment; and 3, with unequal changes of serum iron and ferritin, in whom iron kinetic studies are indicated in order to discover the patents that may benefit from iron therapy.