9 November 2021
Did you know that anemia is prevalent in 98.4% of dialysis patients?
As anemia is caused by an insufficient amount of red blood cells, CKD falters the kidney’s ability to produce hormones that make red blood cells leading to anemia.
Research has shown that anemia can start to occur as early as CKD stage 1 and progressively increases in patients with higher stages of CKD, especially during dialysis.
As a treatment, healthcare professionals usually either supplement patients with iron in the form of pills or IV drips and in some cases they are put on a man made form of the hormone (EPO) if tests suggest that the kidneys are not making enough of it.