A study of iron status in patients with chronic renal failure

Abstract

Abstract:Background: Iron deficiency anemia is the depletion of iron stores to the point that red blood cell (RBCs) production is impaired. Individuals with kidney failure are well confirmed to develop anemia. This is because their kidneys cannot produce enough erythropoietin, as well as other factors. Objective: The study was designed to evaluate the iron status and investigate the changes of its related parameters in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Methods: Fifty patients with chronic renal failure as well as 40 apparently healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Further classification of the patients were carried out depending on the iron supplementation, i.e,25 patients treated with iron supplementation and 25 patients without such treatment. Hemoglobin, serum urea, creatinine, iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) were determined in the patients and the control groups. Results: Significant (P<0.001) decreases of hemoglobin, serum iron, TIBC, UIBC, and significant (p<0.001) increases of serum urea and creatinine levels were obtained in the group of CRF patients when compared with those of the control group. The evaluation of the studied parameters in the two groups of CRF patients revealed significant (P<0.01) elevations of hemoglobin, serum iron, TIBC, and UIBC in the group of patients with iron supplementation when compared to those without such supplementation. Conclusion: The current study confirmed the need of iron supplementation for patients with CRF and demonstrate that such supplementation improve the iron status in this disease.