La anemia es casi inevitable en los últimos estadios de la insuficiencia renal crónica. Se define como la condición en la que la concentración de hemoglobina está por debajo de 2 desviaciones estándar del nivel medio de hemoglobina de la población general, corregida para edad y sexo (generalmente hemoglo-bina < 13 g/dL en hombres y < 12 g/dL en mujeres). Aunque la causa es multifactorial, la más conocida es la inadecuada producción de eritropoyetina. La anemia ha sido relacionada con pobre pronóstico en los pacientes con cáncer, enfermedad renal crónica o falla cardiaca congestiva. El tratamiento con agentes estimulantes de la eritropoyesis, como la eritropoyetina, es una estrategia lógica con la que se ha conseguido mejoría clínica de los pacientes y menos necesidades transfusionales, sin embargo, la corrección total de la anemia con agentes estimulantes de la eritropoyesis ha demostrado incremento en el riesgo de mortalidad y de complicaciones cardiovasculares. En estudios aleatorizados se ha demostrado que conseguir un nivel de hemoglobina normal o cerca del normal no se relaciona con mejoría en la supervivencia ni reducción del riesgo cardiovascular; además, el nivel de hemoglobina ideal con el uso de agentes estimulantes de eritropoyesis parece ser un problema. Se necesita más información para obtener conclusiones definitivas, mientras tanto, al parecer, lo más sensato es usar la dosis de eritropoyetina más baja posible.
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