Characteristics and clinical relevance of chronic anemia in adult heart transplant recipients

Abstract

Mild anemia following HTX shows the same characteristics as anemia in chronic diseases. Persisting mild anemia used to be associated with a shorter life expectancy. There is no evidence that standard immunosuppression causes anemia.

Temporal Pattern of Transfusion and Its Relation to Rejection After Lung Transplantation

“…Likely contributing factors include repetitive blood sampling, chronic disease, steroid-induced gastritis, iron deficiency, viral infections, and the myelosuppressive effects of medications such as azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, ganciclovir and tacrolimus. [15][16][17][18] Interventions should be undertaken to reduce anemia, including iron supplementation, antacid use, and careful monitoring of myelosuppressive drugs. Erythropoietin is generally reduced in lung transplant patients, suggesting a role for recombinant supplementation.…”

Gamma Interferon Suppresses Erythropoiesis via Interleukin-15

“…Clinically significant anemia accompanies a variety of illnesses characterized by acute or chronic immune activation, including cancer, cardiac disease, autoimmunity, and infection (14,22,25). During life-threatening illnesses, anemia often correlates with an increased risk of early death (2,9,16,23).…”

Role of erythropoietin in anemia after heart transplantation

“…So far, there have been two reports on erythropoietin levels in anemic heart transplant recipients [20,21] showing values within the normal range. At present there are scant data on detailed anemia etiology after heart transplantation and no study of clinical effects of anemia treatment in heart transplant recipients.…”