Iron therapy in heart failure patients without anaemia: possible implications for chronic kidney disease patients

[Management of iron deficiency in chronic kidney disease: Review and proposed algorithm]

Iron deficiency is very common in chronic kidney disease, even before the dialysis stage. It is an independent factor of morbidity and mortality in patients with non-dialysis chronic kidney disease. During chronic kidney disease, iron deficiency is defined by a transferrin saturation <20% and/or a serum ferritin <100 μg/L. In France, about half of non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients have absolute iron deficiency (transferrin saturation <20% and serum ferritin <100 μg/L) and/or functional iron deficiency (transferrin saturation <20% and serum ferritin >100 μg/L). Despite this, iron deficiency is usually not investigated. In fact, more than 60% of nephrologists do not assess iron status at least once a year. In addition, iron deficiency is rarely treated: only 12% of patients are prescribed oral or intravenous iron. Early detection and treatment are fundamental and should be systematic. In order to help improve the management of iron deficiency among non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients, we propose an algorithm that takes into account current recommendations and the most recent data from the literature. Initial blood test requires the measurement of hemoglobin concentration, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin. A transferrin saturation <20% establishes the diagnosis of iron deficiency and the serum ferritin level points towards an absolute or functional deficiency. The combination of both values makes it possible to adapt the treatment, particularly in an inflammatory context where oral iron is not effective.

Movie watching during dialysis sessions reduces depression and anxiety and improves quality of life: A randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the effect of watching comedy movies as a complementary practice during dialysis on levels of anxiety, depression, quality of life, stress, laboratory findings and intra-dialysis complications.

METHODS

A randomized clinical trial was conducted involving the practice of presenting comedy movies during dialysis. The primary outcome was depression. The secondary outcomes were anxiety, quality of life, stress, laboratory findings and intra-dialysis complications.ResultsTwenty-six patients were in the control group and 35 were in the experimental group. Significant intra-group differences [6.0 to 3.0 (p <0.001) and 8.0 to 4.0 (p <0.001), respectively] and inter-group differences [5.0 vs. 3.0 (p = 0.016) and 7.0 vs. 4.0 (p = 0.017), respectively] were found regarding anxiety and depression scores, with improvements in the experimental group. The experimental group was also less likely to have intra-dialysis complications, such as hypertension (p = 0.003) and headache (p = 0.020), and reported significant improvements in different domains of quality of life [symptoms/problems (p = 0.003); effects of the disease (p = 0.008); pain (p = 0.027); general health state (p = 0.004); and social function (p = 0.036)]. No significant differences were found in salivary cortisol or the results of the biochemical exams, with the exception of a reduction in hematocrit in the control group.ConclusionsThe proposed complementary practice was associated with reductions in anxiety and depression scores and intra-dialysis complications (hypertension and headache) as well as improvements in quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Risk of iron overload with chronic indiscriminate use of intravenous iron products in ESRD and IBD populations

The routine use of recombinant erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) over the past three decades has enabled the partial correction of anaemia in most patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Since ESA use frequently leads to iron deficiency, almost all ESA-treated haemodialysis patients worldwide receive intravenous iron (IV) to ensure sufficient available iron during ESA therapy. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are also often treated with IV iron preparations, as anaemia is common in IBD. Over the past few years, liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become the gold standard method for non-invasive diagnosis and follow-up of iron overload diseases. Studies using MRI to quantify liver iron concentration in ESRD have shown a link between high infused iron dose and risk of haemosiderosis in dialysis patients. In September 2017, the Pharmacovigilance Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) considered convergent publications over the last few years on iatrogenic haemosiderosis in dialysis patients and requested that companies holding marketing authorization for iron products should investigate the risk of iron overload, particularly in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis and, by analogy, patients with IBD. We present a narrative review of data supporting the views and decision of the EMA, and then give our expert opinion on this controversial field of anaemia therapeutics.

[Assessment of iron deficiency anemia management in the general hospital of Grenoble: A 12-month follow-up of an intravenous ferric carboxymaltose treatment program in a cohort of patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease]

INTRODUCTION

The FIND-CKD study has validated the use of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) injection with a target of ferritin level between 400 and 600ng/mL to treat iron deficiency anemia in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (ND-CKD) patients. In order to assess this strategy in clinical practice, we constituted a cohort of patients within our nephrology department.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients had CKD stages 3 to 5, hemoglobin level (Hb)<13g/dL (men) or<12g/dL (women), and ferritin level (F)<100ng/mL or transferrin saturation (TSAT)<20%. They were not treated by erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) for at least one month, and oral iron had been poorly tolerated or ineffective. FCM first dose was adjusted according to patient weight. A new infusion was possible, at least one month after the first, with a half-dose if TSAT<20% but F≥200ng/mL; no perfusion was performed if F≥400ng/mL.

RESULTS

In all, 53 patients were included with a mean Hb of 11.4g/dL and a mean TSAT of 16%. Over one year of follow-up, only 12 patients (22.6%) needed another treatment for anemia (blood transfusion or ESA). No patient showed a significant decrease in Hb. In all, 62% of patients received only one infusion of FCM.

CONCLUSION

The administration of FCM IV with ferritin levels in the recommended target has proven effective in correcting anemia of ND-CKD patients while limiting the use of another therapeutic strategy.

When should iron supplementation in dialysis patients be avoided, minimized or withdrawn?

Parenteral iron is used to restore the body's iron pool before and during erythropoiesis‐stimulating agent (ESA) therapy; together these agents form the backbone of anemia management in end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis. ESRD patients receiving chronic intravenous iron products, which exceed their blood loss are exposed to an increased risk of positive iron balance. Measurement of the liver iron concentration (LIC) reflects total body iron stores in patients with secondary hemosiderosis and genetic hemochromatosis. Recent studies of LIC in hemodialysis patients, measured by quantitative MRI and magnetic susceptometry, have demonstrated a high risk of iron overload in dialysis patients treated with IV iron products at doses advocated by current anemia management guidelines for dialysis patients. Liver iron overload causes increased production of hepcidin and elevated plasma levels, which can activate macrophages of atherosclerotic plaques. This mechanism may explain the results of 3 long‐term epidemiological studies which showed the association of excessive IV iron doses with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among hemodialysis patients. A more physiological approach of iron therapy in ESRD is needed. Peritoneal dialysis patients, hemodialysis patients infected with hepatitis C virus, and hemodialysis patients with ferritin above 1000 μg/L without a concomitant inflammatory state, all require specific and cautious iron management. Two recent studies have shown that most hemodialysis patients will benefit from lower maintenance IV iron dosages; their results are applicable to American hemodialysis patients. Novel pharmacometric and economic approaches to iron therapy and anemia management are emerging which are designed to lessen the potential side effects of excessive IV iron while maintaining hemoglobin stability without an increase in ESA dosing.

Prevalence, clinical correlates, and outcomes of anaemia in multi-ethnic Asian patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Aims

Recent international heart failure (HF) guidelines recognize anaemia as an important comorbidity contributing to poor outcomes in HF, based on data mainly from Western populations. We sought to determine the prevalence, clinical correlates, and prognostic impact of anaemia in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction across Asia.

Methods and results

We prospectively studied 3886 Asian patients (60 ± 13 years, 21% women) with HF (ejection fraction ≤40%) from 11 regions in the Asian Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure study. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin <13 g/dL (men) and <12 g/dL (women). Ethnic groups included Chinese (33.0%), Indian (26.2%), Malay (15.1%), Japanese/Korean (20.2%), and others (5.6%). Overall, anaemia was present in 41%, with a wide range across ethnicities (33–54%). Indian ethnicity, older age, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease were independently associated with higher odds of anaemia (all P < 0.001). Ethnicity modified the association of chronic kidney disease with anaemia (P_interaction = 0.045), with the highest adjusted odds among Japanese/Koreans [2.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96–4.20]. Anaemic patients had lower Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire scores (P < 0.001) and higher risk of all‐cause mortality and HF hospitalization at 1 year (hazard ratio = 1.28, 95% CI 1.08–1.50) compared with non‐anaemic patients. The prognostic impact of anaemia was modified by ethnicity (P_interaction = 0.02), with the greatest hazard ratio in Japanese/Koreans (1.82; 95% CI 1.14–2.91).

Conclusions

Anaemia is present in a third to more than half of Asian patients with HF and adversely impacts quality of life and survival. Ethnic differences exist wherein prevalence is highest among Indians, and survival is most severely impacted by anaemia in Japanese/Koreans.