Research Reviews
NAAC Research Reviews contain summaries and commentaries of recently published clinical trials regarding prevalence, diagnosis, consequences and treatment of anemia. The summary gives a quick overview of the recently published article from a peer reviewed journal. NAAC also includes an expert commentary in many reviews to discuss the study's results, authors’ conclusions and to explain how this study or the questions raised may impact you, your practice or medical organization.
Research Reviews are organized below by the date our experts reviewed the study. Browse by "Topic" to see reviews related to specific disease states or listed topics. To learn more about our anemia experts, please visit the NAAC Council Members page.
Jun 2008
Significantly lower serum ferritin levels have been observed in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In fact, in an earlier study conducted by the authors of the study described below, 84% of... [ full review ]
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition that shares many symptoms with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and thalassemia minor (TM). According to criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology, FM is a chronic... [ full review ]
Erythropoietin and darbepoetin were FDA-approved in 1993 and 2002, respectively, to treat chemotherapy-associated anemia in patients with non-myeloid malignancies. At that time of approval for erythropoietin, concerns were... [ full review ]
Apr 2008
Anemia is a strong predictor of adverse outcome in chronic heart failure (CHF). According to the World Health Organization, anemia is defined as a hemoglobin (Hb) level less than 12 g/dL in women and less than 13 g/dL in... [ full review ]
Anemia of critical illness is characterized by reduced tissue oxygenation and further complicated by end-organ dysfunction. Allogeneic red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a primary method of treating anemia of critical... [ full review ]
Mar 2008
Erythropoietin (EPO) is produced in the kidneys and naturally stimulates red blood cell production in the body. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) often experience renal tubular and interstitial damage, leading to a... [ full review ]
Clinical treatment for anemic patients on hemodialysis (HD) has significantly improved since the introduction of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, such as epoetin alfa (EPO). Treatment with EPO is effective in raising... [ full review ]
According to the Prevalence of Anemia in Early Renal Insufficiency study, anemia occurs in 47% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Anemia of CKD is frequently associated with adverse cardiovascular events... [ full review ]
Feb 2008
Patients with advanced cervical cancer benefit from concurrent cisplatin-containing chemotherapy with pelvic irradiation. However, unsatisfactory treatment results have led recent efforts to explore specific molecular or... [ full review ]
Treatment for hemoglobin disorders such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease require patients to undergo chronic blood transfusions, often resulting in iron overload which leads to organ damage. Because the body cannot... [ full review ]
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience distressing symptoms which impair their quality of life. In many cases, symptoms are related not only to cancer and chemotherapy, but also to chemotherapy-induced anemia... [ full review ]
Jan 2008
Although multiple studies suggest higher hemoglobin (Hb) levels improve patient quality of life, physical function, and exercise capacity, randomized trials have not demonstrated an association between higher Hb levels and... [ full review ]
Lymphoid malignancies are the leading cause of new cancer cases (4.6%) and cancer deaths (3.6%). Because many lymphoid malignancies have a prolonged disease course, patients typically undergo several courses of intensive... [ full review ]
Childhood ischemic stroke occurs at a frequency of 2-3 cases per 100,000 children each year in North America. Although rare, it can lead to devastating long-term consequences and death. Childhood ischemic stroke includes... [ full review ]
Dec 2007
Anemia is a common complication in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and is associated with impaired quality of life, increased disease progression, and increased mortality. Despite studies that have shown... [ full review ]
Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are an established form of treatment for patients with cancer-related anemia. ESAs have been shown to promote increased levels of hemoglobin (Hb) in anemic patients, thus reducing the... [ full review ]
Anemia is a common clinical finding in patients presenting for surgery. Anemic patients with concomitant disorders and coronary artery disease are at high-risk for post-operative complications. However, the relationship... [ full review ]
Nov 2007
Although transfusions are given to 35-45% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), the view that red blood cell (RBC) transfusions provide an absolute benefit to the critically ill remains under question... [ full review ]
Patients suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC) have found benefit from the ileal pouch with anal anastomosis (IPAA), a surgical procedure consisting of a colectomy and rectal mucoscectomy with construction of an ileal... [ full review ]
Erythropoietic-stimulating agents (ESAs) have been shown to have a supportive therapy role in patients with anemia of critical illness by reducing the need for blood exposures and red blood cell (RBC)... [ full review ]
Oct 2007
Anemia is commonly associated with patients who have received kidney transplants, although few patients in this population with anemia receive erythropoietin treatment. Some studies have claimed that such under-treatment may... [ full review ]
The use of erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) has provided significant therapeutic benefits to patients suffering from cancer-related anemia. Though ESAs have been shown to effectively restore hemoglobin levels and... [ full review ]
Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) has been associated with the occurrence of anemia in patients with myeloma and lymphoma, and is characterized by an insufficient production of erythropoietin that can lead to iron-restricted... [ full review ]
Sep 2007
Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) result from imbalances between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Although some studies have shown conflicting results, anemia has been shown to exacerbate ACS imbalances by causing... [ full review ]
According to reports from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 20 million people in the United States may have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Anemia is a common complication associated with CKD, and often... [ full review ]
Patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty often experience significant blood loss and may need allogeneic blood transfusions. To avoid these risks, patients will often donate autologous blood before surgery, a practice... [ full review ]
Aug 2007
Anemia, defined by the American Society of Transplantation as a hemoglobin concentration under 130 g/L in males and 120 g/L in females, is associated with an increased risk of mortality in affected patient populations... [ full review ]
While healthy adults show strong physiological tolerance towards preoperative anemia and polycythemia in the context of postoperative mortality rates, little is known about how these conditions affect elderly populations. A... [ full review ]
A randomized controlled study enrolling 637 stable, critically ill children has shown that a hemoglobin threshold of 7 g/dL (restrictive-strategy) with reduced leukocytes can reduce transfusion requirements without negative... [ full review ]
A study of dialysis facility ownership has revealed an association between the type of facility (profit, chain, and affiliation status) and epoetin dosing in anemic patients. The study showed that, regardless of anemia... [ full review ]
Jun 2007
Background: Retrospective studies have shown that level of anemia is associated with morbidity and mortality in kidney disease and the onset and progression of left ventricular hypertrophy. In addition, almost half of all... [ full review ]
Background: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is an effective treatment for anemia caused by cancer or chemotherapy. However, rHuEPO fails to achieve clinically meaningful response in 30-50% of patients treated for... [ full review ]
Background: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) conducted a systematic literature review (1996-2003) to produce evidence-based guidelines for the use of erythropoietic proteins in anemic... [ full review ]
Background: Anemia is typical in patients with decreased kidney function. Although kidney transplantation may be associated with complete correction of anemia, recent studies document the persistence of anemia in... [ full review ]
Background: In the western world, diabetes remains the most common cause of end-stage renal disease, while patients with diabetic kidney disease continue to have very poor prognoses. It is commonly believed that anemia... [ full review ]
Background: Whereas studies have shown that patients with iron deficiency anemia have a high prevalence of colonic neoplasia and should undergo prompt colonoscopy, the prevalence of colonic neoplasia in patients with anemia... [ full review ]
Background: A "transfusion trigger" refers to a threshold when transfusions are begun. For many years, clinicians used the "30/10 rule," which indicates the initiation of transfusion at a hematocrit (Ht)... [ full review ]
Background: Anemia is common in cancer patients both as a consequence of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and as a result of the underlying disease. Up to 34% of patients with lung cancer may present with hemoglobin... [ full review ]
Mar 2007
An open-label study of 152 enrolled patients with moderate chronic kidney disease and anemia and a stable hemoglobin (Hb) on darbepoetin alfa every two weeks (Q2W) were transferred over to every month (QM) dosing without... [ full review ]
Treating patients with platinum-based chemotherapeutics for solid tumors commonly results in anemia, often severe. These agents damage the renal erythropoietin-producing cells as well as having a direct myelosuppressive... [ full review ]
A small study of patients following surgical ileal pouch with anal anastomsis (IPAA) treatment for ulcerative colitis identified a trend suggesting iron deficiency anemia may be a presenting sign of pouchitis, defined for... [ full review ]
A logistic regression model were used to determine factors that predicted anemia, iron deficiency (ID)and iron deficiency anemia ( IDA ) in a study of 1657 Chilean children infants at 12 months of age who had birth weights... [ full review ]
A task force of oncology and linguistic experts was gathered to study objectives, methodology, and linguistic analysis in the interaction between doctor and patient and allied health professionals (AHPs) regarding... [ full review ]
Epoetin delta is the only erythropoietin produced in a human cell line. The glyscosylation is different when compared to currently available epoetins. This study investigates the efficacy and safety of epoetin delta... [ full review ]
Jan 2007
Darbepoetin alfa is effective in treating adult chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA), but few studies show effectiveness in children. Approximately 80% of pediatric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy develop CIA... [ full review ]
A total of 603 patients were evaluated in 94 centers world-wide in a 3 year, randomly-assigned, 1:1, open-abel, parallel-group study to determine whether correction of hemoglobin (Hb) levels in patients with anemia and stage... [ full review ]
Use of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa) is indicated for the correction of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). An optimal level of hemoglobin (Hb) has not been defined.
In a study of 1432... [ full review ]
In a 3 year, longitudinal, prospective cohort investigation of 108 adolescents enrolled in the Functional Outcomes in Adolescent CKD study, 23 patients completed evaluation for rates of kidney function decline and... [ full review ]
Until the 1980's red blood cell (RBC) transfusions were considered a safe and effective means of improving oxygen delivery to tissues. From 1942, the general rule followed by physicians was to transfuse when the hemoglobin... [ full review ]
In a small study of nine, non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), correction of anemia by intravenous iron supplementation to improve ferrous stores can cause oxidative stress, a component of tissue and... [ full review ]
Anemia is frequently observed in patients who have ileal pouch-anal anastomoses (IPAA). Restorative proctocolectomy with IPAA is a surgical procedure often used to treat medically refractory ulcerative colitis and most... [ full review ]
Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compromises about 80% of lung cancer, the most common of lethal malignancies worldwide. About 40% of these patients have "distant" disease and are classified as advanced along with... [ full review ]