The following is a summary of “Effects of the Omicron variant of coronavirus disease 2019 on anemia treatment for patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Nephrology by Yang et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate the impact of anti-anaemia treatment on peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and its influence on hemoglobin (Hb) levels.
They conducted a retrospective analysis on patients undergoing PD diagnosed with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 at their center (November 2022- February 2023). The study examined alterations in Hb levels and investigated the efficacy of roxadustat and recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) in managing patients infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The results showed that among the 125 enrolled patients, 83 (66.4%) were infected with the Omicron variant, and 75 (90.4%) patients mainly experienced mild or moderate disease. During infection, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were higher than those before infection (P<.001). Their CRP levels were negatively correlated with Hb levels (P=.002). Hb levels decreased 1 month after infection (109.61 ± 10.64 g/L vs 115.69 ± 12.04 g/L; P<.001). The roxadustat treatment group did not exhibit significantly decreased Hb levels 1 month after infection (114.57 ± 14.11 vs 117.51 ± 10.74 g/L; P=.225). The rhEPO treatment group experienced a mild decrease in Hb levels (108.69 ± 11.20 vs 115.03 ± 12.23 g/L; P=.001). Ferritin levels increased in both groups during infection (P=.495). Two months after infection, ferritin levels (median, 205.0 ng/mL) were significantly decreased compared with during infection (median, 377.4 ng/mL) (P<.001) in the roxadustat treatment group.
Investigators concluded that Roxadustat proved superior to rhEPO in treating anemia for PD patients with the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
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