title: National perspective on iron therapy as a clinical performance measure for maintenance hemodialysis patients.
abstract: The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Core Indicators Project collects clinical information on prevalent adult patients receiving in-center hemodialysis care in the United States to assess the quality of care delivered. Although hematocrit values, transferrin saturations (TSATs) and iron prescription practices have improved over the last 5 years, we sought to determine whether there are continued opportunities for improvement of this domain of care. A random sample of 7,292 adult in-center hemodialysis patients was selected for the period October through December 1996. Hematocrit values, TSATs, serum ferritin concentrations, epoetin-alfa dosing, and iron prescriptions were abstracted from 4,991 patient medical records to assess anemia management practices. The mean hematocrit for this cohort was 32.6% +/- 3.5%, and 72% of patients had hematocrit values greater than 30%. Ninety-four percent of patients received epoetin alfa intravenously, with a mean weekly epoetin dose of 202.4 +/- 137.2 U/kg. The mean TSAT was 27.4% +/- 12.6%; 73% of patients had TSATs >/= 20%. The mean serum ferritin concentration was 386 +/- 422 ng/mL; 79% and 12% of patients had serum ferritin concentrations greater than 100 ng/mL and greater than 800 ng/mL, respectively. Nine percent of the sample had TSATs less than 20% and serum ferritin concentrations less than 100 ng/mL. Regardless of the TSAT, approximately three fourths of patients received iron; only about half received IV iron. Of the subset of patients with TSATs less than 20% and serum ferritin concentration less than 800 ng/mL, only 53% were prescribed IV iron. Although substantial improvements have been made in anemia management in hemodialysis patients over the last 5 years, significant opportunities persist to improve iron prescription practices.
authors.affiliation: Duke Institute of Renal Outcomes Research and Health Policy, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA. wfowen@ibm.net
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Szczech
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frankenfield
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006397:Hematinics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D006397:Hematinics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014168:Transferrin; D004921:Erythropoietin; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron