The relationship between anemia and Kt/V index in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis

Introduction: Anemia in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) can cause serious problems for patients. Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate whether the type or adequacy of dialysis can affect the incidence of anemia in these patients. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 57 patients with ESRD, who were referred to Qaem and Imam Reza hospitals, Mashhad, Iran. The patients were divided into two groups of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) (n=37 patients) and hemodialysis (n=20 patients). Patients had no laboratory evidence of iron deficiency or hyperparathyroidism. Enrolled patients were received vitamin B12 and folic acid too. Hemoglobin concentration of under 11 mg/dL was considered as anemia. Adequacy of dialysis was evaluated by Kt/V index (>1.2 for hemodialysis and >1.7 per week for peritoneal dialysis). We compared different factors in these two groups, including anemia and Kt/V, and evaluated their relationship. Results: Around 27% and 65% of the patients on CAPD and hemodialysis were anemic respectively (P=0.005). Adequacy of dialysis in CAPD was acceptable in 81.1% of the cases, while target Kt/V was achieved in 50% of the patients on hemodialysis. Dialysis adequacy was significantly higher in patients receiving CAPD (P=0.014). No significant correlation between the incidence of anemia and Kt/V in both types of dialysis was found (P>0.05). Conclusion: Anemia was mostly observed in patients receiving hemodialysis as compared to CAPD. Regardless of the type of dialysis, adequacy of dialysis did not affect the incidence of anemia in any of the groups.