Erythropoietic Response to Anaemia of Dialysis Naïve Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in Zaria, North-West Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health problem with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Anemia is one of its consistent and severe hematological complications although its mechanism is not fully elucidated. The primary defect could manifest as serum erythropoietin (sEPO) deficiency or EPO resistance. We set out to determine the erythropoietic response to anemia of patients with CKD and its relationship with their iron status in a cross-sectional descriptive study of 91 patients in various stages of CKD. Materials and Methods: Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), sEpo, and serum ferritin levels were determined using ELISA method (Diagnostic Automation Inc and WKEA med supplies corp.). Data generated were analyzed using Epi Info version 3.5.3 and level of statistical significance was set at ≤0.05. Results: Participants comprised of 50 females (54.9%) and 41 (45.1%) males with an overall mean age of 47 ± 15 years. The major causes of CKD were hypertension (HTN) (50.54%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (6.59%), and HTN + DM (19.78%). The mean hemoglobin (Hb) concentration of the participants was 10.97 ± 2.28 g/dl; the red cell indices were within normal ranges except for Red cell distribution width-Coefficient of variation (%) which was elevated (16.29%). The mean serum ferritin, sTfR, and sEpo were 70.58 ± 46.44 ng/ml (interquartile range [IQR] 82.00), 22.9 ± 49.7 ng/ml (IQR 15.00), and 12.49 ± 33.47 IU/L (IQR 6.00), respectively, with a high variance. Serum ferritin and sTfR are consistently low across the stages of CKD (range between 54.54 ng/ml and 88.64 ng/ml), but sEPO for stage 3 and 4 showed a 2-fold increase when compared to normal level at Hb 10.97 g/dl (29.54 IU/L and 38.83 IU/L, respectively). Correlation between sTfR and sEpo (r2 = 0.96, P = 0.001), while between sEpo and serum ferritin (r2 = 0.02, P = 0.185), and between Hb and stage of CKD undulating (r2 = 0.41, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In contrast to some existing literature, this study has demonstrated that EPO resistance and iron deficiency contributes to anemia in CKD and serum ferritin can be used to assess the iron level of dialysis naïve CKD patients at every stage of the disease.

Recommendations for early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease is an important component of chronic non - communicable diseases that are now of pandemic proportions and are the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Patients with reduced renal function represent a population not only at risk for progression of kidney disease and development of end stage renal disease (ESRD), but also at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Unfortunately, chronic kidney disease is under diagnosed and undetected resulting in lost opportunities for improving the clinical outcome. Early diagnosis with appropriate interventions will improve the quality of care of patients and prevent or delay progression to end stage renal disease. Our objective is to review existing recommendations and examine their adaptation to improving the quality of care for patients with chronic kidney disease in our environment. METHOD: Hand searches of published articles and electronic data were the primary sources. Only articles published in the English language were consulted excluding case reports, letters and conference abstracts. Articles of original data were searched from 1980 while review articles and expert committee reports were from 2000. RESULTS: Early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease is crucial to improving the clinical outcome and reducing the incidence of end stage renal disease. Certain individuals with specific socio demographic and clinical factors are at increased risk of chronic renal disease. All individuals should be assessed as part of routine health encounter, to determine whether they are at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease based on clinical and socio demographic factors. Individuals at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease should undergo testing for markers of kidney damage, and to estimate the level of GFR. Individuals found to have chronic kidney disease should be evaluated and treated appropriately. A clinical action plan should be developed for each patient based on the type and stage of renal disease, co-morbid conditions, complications of the disease and risk factors for progression of renal disease or development of cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSION: Individuals at increased risk, but found not to have chronic kidney disease, should be advised to follow of risk factor reduction, if appropriate, and undergo repeat periodic evaluation.