Effect of early correction of anemia with erythropoietin on left ventricular mass in predialysis patients:a multi-center trial / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the effects of early correction of anemia with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on the development and progression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with mild-to-moderate chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) who are not on hemodialysis. Methods A total of 158 patients with serum creatinine from 147μmol/L to 400μmol/L were nrolled in this prospective, multicenter study. Eighty-six patients with hemoglobin (Hb)＜110g/L received rHuEPO treatment with a target Hb of ≥110g/L (Group A). Forty patients with comparable Hb concentration (＜110g/L) but did not receive rHuEPO (Group B) and 32 patients with Hb≥110g/L and without rHuEPO treatment (Group C) were served as controls. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was evaluated by echocardiography at baseline and every 3 months for 2 years. Results There was no difference in age, gender, etiology of renal failure, blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors among the 3 groups. At baseline, the prevalence of LVH was 72.1% in group A,72.5% in group B and 59.4% in group C. LVMI was inversely correlated with Hb levels (r=0.70, P＜0.01). During the 2-year period, the mean LVMI decreased from 142.6±25.7g/m2 to 132.4±18.5 g/m2 in group A, while increased significantly in both group B and group C. The mean Hb concentration increased from 93.8±14.6g/L to 111.2±10.3g/L (P＜0.05) in group A, but tended to decrease in group B and group C. There was no significant change of the mean blood pressure, number of anti-hypertensive drugs and serum creatinine concentrations in all 3 groups. However, patients' serum creatinine doubled more often in group B and group C than in group A.Conclusions LVH was common in predialysis CRI patients and was associated with the severity of anemia. Early intervention with rHuEPO may reverse LVH in these patients.