Conditions: End Stage Renal Disease
Keywords: Anemia, ESRD
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 48
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have increased levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, which in turn contribute to anemia and cardiovascular disease.

Pentoxifylline is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, and has shown promise in improving the treatment of patients with anemia. This study will examine the use of pentoxifylline for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease.

Detailed description:
Treatment of the anemia of renal failure has been revolutionized by the use of erythropoietin and other ESAs (erythropoiesis-stimulating agent). Concerns with ESA use include a substantial number of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients with ESA-resistant anemia, and a growing body of evidence of potential negative effects of high doses of ESA use, including increased mortality and increased rate of tumor growth in cancer patients.

There are only a couple of small studies in the literature examining the effects of pentoxifylline on anemia in patients with renal failure. The results are limited by the very small number of patients. There is clearly a need for a larger, prospective, clinical trial of pentoxifylline in ESRD patients, not limited to those with ESA-resistant anemia. This would be the first prospective, randomized clinical trial of this size to study pentoxifylline for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease.

Arms:
arm 1: None arm 2: None

Interventions: intervention 1: Erythropoietin intervention 2: Erythropoietin intervention 3: Pentoxifylline
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Standard of Care intervention 2: Standard of Care intervention 3: 400 mg qd po for 6 months

Protocol document: