Target-based Anemia Management with Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (Risks and Benefits Relearned) and Iron (Still More to Learn).

The FDA first licensed erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESA) for use in patients with ESRD in 1989. Hemoglobin targets for treatment with ESAs were established at the outset on the basis of descriptive pre-ESA literature and Phase I-III data in patients with ESRD. Postrelease literature in ESA-treated patients accumulating over time initially supported improvement in indices of both cardiovascular and other organ function as well as quality of life with therapy. Recommended treatment targets for hemoglobin would evolve further in the United States from four iterations of evidence- and opinion-based practice guidelines appearing between 1997 and 2007. Several randomized, controlled trials published from 1998 to 2009 examined normalization and near-normalization of hemoglobin in patients with both ESRD and CKD; they raised fundamental questions as to the safety of robust correction of anemia. These findings, taken together with subsequent actions of the FDA in ESA labeling and CMS's quality expectations for hemoglobin in payment for dialysis treatments, would result in a comprehensive reassessment of the hemoglobin targets in ESA therapy. A marked decrease in both national ESA utilization and hemoglobin attainment has ensued as a result. This discussion addresses the history of the striking changes in enthusiasm for hemoglobin-targeted anemia therapy from 1989 to the present, and similarly examines the evolution of ferritin-targeted iron administration, which has followed different-and markedly slower-historical development.

Monitoring quality of care at dialysis facilities: a case for regulatory parsimony--and beyond.

With the issuance of the new Conditions for Coverage in 2008 and the implementation of the Prospective Payment System in 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has fundamentally altered the regulatory landscape of quality in the ESRD program. Although these changes-largely through use of tools comparing individual facility performance to regional and national quality expectations-have increased facility accountability for the quality of patient care in many quarters, they have also complicated both substance and process of facility adherence to quality rules in that component of the program. This editorial critically assesses the main quality tools now in use for dialysis facilities and reviews the issues arising from their conjoint use. A scheme for improving the effectiveness of each quality tool is proposed, and an assessment of their future value and effectiveness in quality improvement is offered.

Transdermal androgen therapy to augment EPO in the treatment of anemia of chronic renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Hypogonadism and anemia are common comorbid conditions in dialysis patients. Testosterone replacement may improve such clinical parameters as anemia, sarcopenia, and low libido. Additionally, by increasing hemoglobin levels, testosterone replacement may allow for a dose reduction in recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO), thereby reducing cost. METHODS: This phase IV, single-center, placebo-controlled, double-blind study assessed the effect of transdermal testosterone on serum testosterone levels, rHuEPO dose required to maintain hemoglobin level, bone mineral content, lean body mass and fat content, cholesterol level, sexual function, and mood. Forty hypogonadal male hemodialysis patients who were administered rHuEPO were randomly assigned to 100 mg of topical 1% testosterone gel (Testim; Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Norristown, PA) or placebo, applied daily for 6 months. RESULTS: Forty men with a mean age of 56 years and baseline serum testosterone level less than 300 ng/dL (< 10.4 nmol/L) participated in this trial. In men assigned to administration of transdermal testosterone, there was an increase beyond that in the placebo group in mean serum testosterone (77.1 ng/dL [2.7 nmol/L]), dihydrotestosterone (DHT; 0.8 nmol/L), and estradiol levels (6.3 pg/mL [23.0 pmol/L]) and a decrease in mean serum luteinizing hormone levels (-3.1 IU/L). Compared with subjects administered placebo, participants on testosterone replacement therapy did not show an appreciable change in rHuEPO dose (mean difference adjusted for baseline values, 12.6 U/kg/wk; P = 0.73), bone mineral density, lean body mass or fat content, cholesterol level, sexual function, or mood. CONCLUSION: Daily administration of 100 mg of topical 1% testosterone gel for 6 months failed to significantly increase serum testosterone or DHT levels in hypogonadal men with end-stage renal disease. Treatment with transdermal testosterone did not impact on rHuEPO requirement or clinical parameters in this small placebo-controlled study. Greater serum testosterone levels may be required to show clinical benefit in men with end-stage renal disease.

Is it time for a paradigm shift? Is erythropoietin deficiency still the main cause of renal anaemia?

An increasing number of reports documenting resistance to human recombinant erythropoietin (rHuEPO) therapy are challenging the concept that erythropoietin deficiency is the main cause of the anaemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In an attempt to establish whether other factors play a more predominant role in the anaemia of CKD, 988 patients receiving dialysis were assessed for a wide range of variables. Data were collected on haematocrit (Hct) levels, rHuEPO dose, dry weight, serum ferritin, transferrin saturation, serum albumin, serum aluminium, serum parathyroid hormone intact, eKt/V for urea, gender, dose of i.v. iron administered, time in hospital, and use of i.v. vancomycin. Hyporesponsiveness to rHuEPO was defined as patients requiring >500 IU/kg/week or failing to achieve Hct levels of >30%. Ninety-two (9.2%) of the 988 patients met the above criteria for hyporesponsiveness to rHuEPO. In 21 of these patients, Hct concentrations remained <30% at 6-month follow-up. There were known haematological causes of refractoriness to rHuEPO in nine of these patients. During extended follow-up, probable causes of hyporesponsiveness were discovered in all but two of the remaining 13 patients. Of 62 dialysis patients who received rHuEPO at doses >500 IU/kg/week, 45 (73%) had Hct concentrations of 33-42%. These patients were responding to the higher doses of rHuEPO with no obvious adverse effects. Lower values of serum ferritin, transferrin saturation, and eKt/V, or higher levels of parathyroid hormone or serum aluminium were not associated with higher rHuEPO dose requirements. These results suggest that erythropoietin deficiency is still the main cause of the anaemia of CKD. Erythropoietin replacement therapy can correct the anaemia in almost all iron replete patients providing enough hormone is given, functional iron deficiency is avoided, aluminium levels and parathyroid toxicities are controlled and that no de novo haematological condition that affects erythropoiesis or red blood cell survival develops. Consideration should be given to modifying the definition of rHuEPO hyporesponsiveness. The US Hct target of 33-36% for haemodialysis patients is narrow and the European target of Hct >33% may be significantly more practical and physiologically relevant.