Extremely Low Dose of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent May Be Associated with Increased Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients

Introduction: Although high-dose erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) has been shown to increase mortality risk and adverse cardiovascular events in hemodialysis patients, the safety of extremely low-dose ESA is unclear. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the association between ESA dose and mortality in the monthly dosing range of 0–43,000 U of equivalent epoetin alfa in 304 Taiwan hemodialysis patients by using Cox proportional hazard model and cubic spline model. Results: Compared with mean monthly ESA dose of 15,000–25,000 U (mean ± standard deviation 20,609 ± 2,662 U), monthly ESA dose of less than 15,000 U (mean ± standard deviation 7,413 ± 4,510 U) is associated with increased mortality. Monthly ESA dose of 25,001–43,000 U (mean ± standard deviation 31,160 ± 4,304 U) is not associated with higher mortality risk than monthly ESA dose of 15,000–25,000 U. The results were consistent in Cox proportional hazard models and cubic spline models. Subgroup analyses showed no significant heterogeneities among prespecified subgroups. Conclusions: Extremely low dose of ESA in hemodialysis patients may be associated with increased mortality risk. Future studies are warranted to prove this association.