Characterization of pediatric patients receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for management of anemia of chronic kidney disease in the UK and US: a feasibility assessment using retrospective chart review

Anemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We evaluated the feasibility of collecting comprehensive data from medical charts for longitudinal assessment of anemia among pediatric patients receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) for anemia of CKD in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US). This retrospective chart review study used an electronic case report form to collect data from medical records of pediatric patients treated with an ESA (as either an incident or a prevalent patient) from January 1, 2017–December 31, 2018. Consecutive chart reviews were conducted from November 1–December 20, 2021. Data collected included clinical characteristics, disease, and treatment management. Of 50 patients enrolled, 36 (72.0%) and 14 (28.0%) were from the UK and US, respectively; median (interquartile range) age was 9.0 (4.0–11.0) years, 22 (44.0%) were female and 28 (56.0%) were male. Median follow-up was 52.1 weeks. The most common primary CKD etiology was congenital anomalies of the kidney/urinary tract ( n = 14, 28.0%). Twenty-three (46.0%) patients received dialysis at the index date and eight (16.0%) had a kidney transplant post-index date. Twenty-eight (56.0%) patients received iron treatment with their index-line ESA. The mean (standard deviation) baseline hemoglobin level was 10.0 (2.0) g/dL. Twenty adverse events (AEs) were recorded in nine (18.0%) patients; all were serious and no inference was sought for attributability to treatment. This study demonstrates feasibility of retrospectively extracting clinical characteristics, treatment history, and AEs from medical charts of pediatric patients with anemia of CKD.