Absence of Anemia in Maintenance Hemodialysis

Abstract

Anemia is usual in untreated uremia. Persistent anemia is thought to be universal in uremic patients treated by maintenance hemodialysis (MH). A retrospective chart analysis of 549 patients on (MH) at five facilities in Brooklyn, found that eleven (2%) of these patients had a hematocrit (Hct) in the normal range (40%). To distinguish this subset of patients from the majority of MH, we compared both groups for: (1) etiology of the renal disease, (2) presence of residual renal function, (3) dialysis prescription, (4) decreased arterial O₂ saturation, (5) greater use of vitamins or anabolic steroids, (6) absence of parathyroid disease. The relatively high hematocrit was not explained by any factor evaluated in this small subset of MH patients.