Administration of pentoxifylline to improve anemia of hemodialysis patients

Introduction: one of the most important causes of erythropoietin-resistant anemia in end-stage renal disease (esrd) patients is increased levels of inflammatory cytokines.objectives: in this study pentoxifylline, an anti-inflammatory and anti-cytokine drug, with no significant side effects was used to manage anemia in esrd patients.patients and methods: thirty-nine esrd patients with erythropoietin-resistant anemia were assigned to two groups, the treatment and the control groups. in treatment group, 19 patients received erythropoietin, venofer and pentoxifylline for 6 months. patients in control group received erythropoietin and venofer. hemoglobin (hb), hematocrit (hct), albumin and quantitative c-reactive protein (crp) were measured at the beginning of the study, monthly and at the end of the study.results: hb and hct were significantly increased in the treatment group (9.33 ± 1.25 g/dl and 28.08 ± 3.88% at baseline; 11.22 ± 1.26 g/dl and 34.02 ± 3.72% at sixth month, p = 0.01), but not in the control group. crp was significantly decreased in the treatment group but no significant change occurred in the control group.conclusion: pentoxifylline is effective in improvement of erythropoietin-resistant anemia in esrd patients.