[Causes of anemia after kidney transplantation]

In this paper possible causes of anemia in patients after kidney transplantation were investigated. Anemia developed in 29 patients 14 to 22 months after kidney transplantation. At the time when these patients became anemic fourteen had normal graft function while the others 15 suffered chronic graft failure due to chronic rejection in 11 patients combined with cyclosporine nephrotoxicity in other four patients. Anemia in patients with normal graft function was caused by iron (in 8), folic acid deficiency (in 16) and vitamin B12 deficiency (in 2 patients). In this patients group anemia improved after substitution therapy. Therapy with rHuEpo was necessary in patients with chronic graft failure, indicating that erythropoietin deficiency was the main cause of their anemia. However, chronic graft failure progression, expressed by 1/sCr/time was not accelerated by anemia improvement. It could be concluded that examination of etiologic factors of posttransplant anemia is prerequisite for the most adequate treatment whose effects depend on graft function.