The Efficacy of Ferumoxytol in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Short Scientific Report

Abstract

One of the major elements contributing to anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients is iron deficiency. Iron supplementation in oral form is often not tolerated and ineffectively absorbed. Intravenous (IV) infusion is time consuming and is inconvenient in Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) patients self-treating at home. A new preparation of iron, ferumoxytol, is a carbohydrate-coated, paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle, which can be administered as a bolus intravenous injection, allowing the PD patient to more easily comply with current IV iron dosing regimens. Few studies have been done to evaluate the efficacy of ferumoxytol in PD population. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of peritoneal dialysis patients who received at least one dose of ferumoxytol between January 2010 and August 2010 and observed that 17 patients showed an improvement in hemoglobin (Hb) to 1 gm/dl within a month of treatment along with a decrease in epoetin dosage in subsequent weeks.