Evaluation of Iron Profile Status in Different Stages of Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD)

Background: Iron deficiency is common in Nepal due to low socioeconomic reason in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients than in the hemodialysis population. Little is known about the iron indices in CKD patients in Nepal.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the iron status among anemic pre-dialysis patients with different stages of CKD.

Patients and Methods: We used a cross-sectional study design to assess serum iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation (TSAT), and haemoglobin concentration in 70 pre-dialysis CKD patients with anaemia who came to our outpatient nephrology clinic. CKD was defined as a glomerular filtration rate less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 for 3 months or more, while anemia was defined as a hemoglobin concentration (Hb) less than 11 g/dl.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 52.5 ± 13.2 years and 40 (57.1%) of the patients were males. The most common causes of CKD were diabetic nephropathy (45%) and hypertension (34%). The mean serum iron and mean TSAT were 95 ± 34.9 µg/dl and 28.9% ± 13.8%, respectively.

Conclusions: Anemia due to iron deficiency is a hallmark of different stages of CKD patients, mostly moderate in severity with serum creatinine level > 3.0 g/dl. Hemoglobin and other iron profile aggravates with progressive loss of kidney functions.