Summary

The management of anemia after kidney transplantation remains poorly explored. The Management of Anemia in French Kidney Transplant Patients (MATRIX) study is an observational study conducted in 10 academic hospitals among kidney-transplant patients designed to evaluate the prevalence, associated factors and management of post-transplant anemia. Over two consecutive weeks, 418 recipients (males: 248; age: 50.8 ± 12.7 years) were included, all were transplanted for more than six months. Mean serum creatinine (Scr) was 152 ± 67 μmol/l and mean hemoglobin (Hb) was 12.4 ± 1.8 g/dl (males: 12.8 ± 1.9 g/dl; females 11.9 ± 1.6 g/dl). Irrespective of the delay following transplantation, 23 % of patients (n = 95) were severely anemic (Hb ≤ 11 g/dl). Eighteen percent of the patients received an antianemic treatment (10 % oral iron, 7 % erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESA), 4 % folic acid) and only 35 % of the severely anemic patients were actually treated (n = 33). A significantly-negative correlation was observed between eGFR and Hb levels (R = − 0.347, p < 0.02). Ninety-six percent of the 193 patients transplanted for more than six months and a Scr greater than 150 μmol/l (n = 185) suffered at least one comorbidity (89 % hypertension, 32 % hypercholesterolemia, 13 % diabetes); this group represent the second cohort. Seventy-four percent of them were treated with mycophenolate mofetil, 16 % with azathioprine, and 62 % with an ACEI or angiotensin II receptor antagonists. Since the transplantation, 127 patients (66 % ) have been anemic (Hb ≤ 11 g/dl) and 58 % (n = 112) were treated (iron and/or ESA, respectively 81 and 55 % ). Among the patients not treated for anemia, 74 % had an Hb level below 12 g/dl. ESA-treated patients received a mean dose of 8500 UI ± 2800 per week. Anemia is under-diagnosed and under-treated in renal-transplant recipients, despite its high prevalence. As expected, a correlation between renal function and Hb levels was observed, as in CKD patients. Prospective studies are underway to assess the consequences of postkidney transplant anemia on quality of life, cardiovascular morbidity and chronic allograft nephropathy and to define the benefit of the treatment.