New Study by BioTrends Highlights Anemia Practice Patterns According to Anemia Managers in Both Dialysis Units and CKD Clini...( EXTON Pa. Sept. 11 /- BioTrends R...)

EXTON, Pa., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrends Research Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the release of TreatmentTrends(TM): Anemia Managers. This is the first report in a series conducted with Anemia Managers. It is based on the results of an on-line survey completed by 150 Anemia Managers -- 100 working with dialysis patients and 50 working with later stage Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients, and qualitative interviews with a subset of 25 respondents. The report focuses on the management of renal anemia, including the use of ESAs and IV iron. Comparisons to Nephrologist responses regarding anemia management are made throughout the report, based on data from the recently published BioTrends TreatmentTrends(TM): Nephrology report.

In the dialysis market, Anemia Managers are very involved in monitoring lab values related to ESA and IV iron use and making therapy decisions based on labs and protocols. Similar to Nephrologists, the vast majority of Anemia Managers report that ESA safety issues have impacted their use of ESAs in dialysis. Both Anemia Managers and Nephrologists most often report protocol changes and ESA dose reductions at lower hemoglobin levels as types of changes, but Anemia Managers were more likely to report that they are using lower average doses of ESAs, monitoring hemoglobins more frequently, and placing more emphasis on a patient's IV iron status. Relatedly, Anemia Managers predict a significant increase in their use of IV iron in the next three months, and over one-third report changing their IV iron protocol in the past three months -- most often allowing higher levels of ferritin before holding IV iron and making more effort to keep patients on maintenance therapy (by extending dosing frequency, for example) instead of discontinuing therapy. American Regent's Venofer is the market share leader in the hemodialysis market over Watson's Ferrlecit.

In the CKD market, similar to the dialysis market, Anemia Managers are oft
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