New National Kidney Foundation KDOQI Guidelines for the Treatment of Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease

New York, NY
May 18, 2006

All patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) should be evaluated for anemia, according to new guidelines from the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI). The Clinical Practice Guidelines for Anemia of Chronic Kidney Disease was published as a supplement to the May 2006 issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Originally published in 1997 as the Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative Guideline for Anemia of Chronic Renal Failure and then updated in 2001, this new version has been expanded to cover all stages of CKD.

“Anemia often negatively affects the quality of life for patients with CKD,” said David Van Wyck, MD, co-chair of the work group that developed the guideline. “The good news is that, among all the potential complications of CKD, anemia is perhaps the most responsive to treatment.”

According to co-chair Kai-Ewe Eckardt, MD, the new evidence review process clearly distinguishes evidence-based guidelines from expert, opinion-based clinical practice recommendations. “A major effort was undertaken to ensure methodologic rigor and to articulate the rationale for each guideline and recommendation succinctly and unambiguously,” he said.

Key elements in the guideline include:

  • Definition of anemia by hemoglobin is ‹13.5 g/dL for males and ‹12.0 g/dL for females.

  • Patients should be treated with ESA (erythropoiesis stimulating agents) and / or iron when their hemoglobin is below 11 g/dl, but caution should be exercised when maintaining hemoglobin levels > 13 g/dl.

  • Lower limit of Ferritin is 200 ng/mL for HD-CKD, 100 ng/mL for non-HD-CKD.   There was insufficient evidence to recommend routine administration of IV iron to patients with ferritin ›500 ng/mL.

  • The objective of this guideline is to offer practitioners evidence-based best practices,” said Adeera Levin, MD, FRCPC, chair of NKF-KDOQI. “On the local level, practitioners who face reimbursement constraints can now make informed decisions based on scientific evidence. Similarly, those responsible for developing reimbursement policy may now make informed decisions consistent with the science.”

Guideline Work Group
The NKF- KDOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Anemia of Chronic Kidney Disease are the culmination of two years’ work reviewing evidence published in peer-reviewed medical journals by 16 volunteer experts in nephrology, hematology, epidemiology, nutrition, pharmacology, nursing, internal medicine and pediatrics.

Guideline Sponsor
Amgen is the Primary Sponsor of this guideline. Amgen is the Founding and Principal Sponsor of NKF-KDOQI. Sponsors are not involved in any aspect of the actual guideline development process.

To order the guideline, please call 800-622-9010, 212-889-2210 or visit www.kidney.org
The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, influencing public policy in support of the kidney community and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.

About the National Kidney Foundation

The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, influencing public policy in support of the kidney community and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.

For more information, please call 800 622-9010.