TITLE:
Correction of Severe Anemia in a Patient with End Stage Renal Disease and Myelodysplastic Syndrome
AUTHORS:
Ankita Patel, Suchita Mehta, Ahmad Waseef, Subodh Saggi
KEYWORDS:
Anemia, Desferrioxamine, ESRD
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nephrology,
Vol.4 No.3,
September
25,
2014
ABSTRACT: Background: Anemia is a common complication of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is effectively managed by Erythropoietin Stimulating Agents (ESAs) and intravenous iron therapy. Management of anemia in ESRD patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) poses a unique challenge. ESAs even at extremely high doses do not result in a desired response, especially if the patients are iron-overloaded. Case: A 72-year-old man with history of ESRD and MDS on hemodialysis since September 2009 was severely anemic requiring massive doses of ESA in excess of 90,000 units/week. Iron saturation was consistently >60%; ferritin was >2500. Desferrioxamine (DFO) 125 mg IV/week was begun in November 2010. His PRBC transfusion and ESA requirements declined after the initiation of this therapy. He had 33 ER visits for PRBC transfusions (1 - 3 transfusions/visit) from September 2009 to November 2010 (average: 2.35/month), which decreased to 18 visits in 20 months (average: 0.9/month) after getting DFO. Conclusion: We report a case of MDS with ESRD on hemodialysis where anemia was managed with Desferrioxamine therapy along with ESA, after which it was noted that there was a significant reduction in the number of PRBC transfusions that the patient received along with a decrease in ESA requirements and a decrease in number of hospitalizations, which in the long term could be cost effective.