The Renal Anaemia Knowledge Centre
What you will find in the Knowledge Centre:
Chronic Kidney Disease
"CKD is characterised by a gradual and permanent loss of kidney function that worsens as it progresses from stages 1 to 5. One of the most common complications of CKD is anaemia. Anaemia in patients with CKD causes debilitating weakness and fatigue, altered cognitive function, and a negative impact on quality of life and wellbeing1." Read more...
"CKD is a global health problem of increasing scope and depth. Population studies in Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States indicate that up to 16% of the general population have some degree of CKD1-4 and it is expected that the number of patients with stage 5 CKD will continue to rise." Read more...
"The incidence of stage 5 CKD varies between world regions and from country to country, and in many countries the incidence is predicted to increase.2,3,7,8 Although it affects <1% of the overall population, the prevalence of stage 5 CKD is increasing at an annual average rate of 7%,1,6" Read more...
Renal Anaemia
"Anaemia is defined as a reduction of the number of circulating red blood cells to below a certain threshold level. It is also described as a low haemoglobin concentration or a low volume of packed red cells1. Low haemoglobin levels lead to insufficient oxygenation of organs. Diagnosis is through blood tests using normal ranges calibrated from large populations." Read more...
"Renal anaemia is secondary to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and it appears early in the course of CKD, worsening as it progresses. CKD is defined as kidney damage with structural and/or functional abnormalities or a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, or both, for ≥3 months." Read more...
"Because renal anaemia impairs the delivery and utilization of oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body, it has a wide range of effects on both quality of life and overall health and well being1." Read more...
"Haemoglobin is carried by the red blood cells in the blood. Red blood cells derive from myeloid stem cells (burst-forming unit–erythroid [BFU-E] and colony-forming unit–erythroid [CFU-E] cells) in the bone marrow through the process of erythropoiesis. As a crucial first step, the hormone erythropoietin (produced by the kidney) binds to BFU-E and CFU-E cells, triggering them to divide and differentiate into ‘proerythroblasts’." Read more...
"A diagnosis of renal anaemia is made when haemoglobin falls below certain threshold levels. These have been defined by the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the European Best Practice Guidelines (EBPG) for the Management of Renal Anaemia in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure." Read more...
"Shown below is a flow-chart describing diagnosis of renal anaemia in patients presenting with CKD.1" Read more...
"In the recent years many advances in the diagnosis of anaemias have been made1. In the downloadable PDF document, which you can find on this page, a number of diagnostic methods are described. In this document you can find sections on Determination in Serum/Plasma, The Blood Count and Tests for the Diagnosis of Chronic Inflammation." Read more...
"Anaemia in the presence of CKD can increase the risk for adverse outcomes, including mortality, progression of kidney disease, CVD, stroke, hospitalisation, and diminished quality of life.1 Therefore, patients with early kidney disease should be carefully monitored and treatment with an ESA initiated as soon as anaemia is diagnosed, before Hb concentration falls to a level that is likely to induce serious and possibly irreversible sequelae." Read more...
"International guidelines recommend raising Hb levels >11 g/dL for correction of CKD-related anaemia, but these levels are not maintained in most patients. According to the US Renal Data System 2006 Annual Data Report, approximately half of dialysis patients treated with current ESAs have Hb levels outside the target range at any given time.1" Read more...
"2006 KDOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Practice Recommendations for Anaemia in Chronic Kidney Disease:
Keep abreast of the most recent renal anaemia guidelines from the United States National Kidney Foundation ‘Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative’ (KDOQI)." Read more...
"Despite ongoing clinical advancement, many challenges still exist in the treatment of renal anaemia. These challenges range from the growing number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients through to adverse events associated with some treatments." Read more...
