Roxadustat on renal anemia in patients with maintenance hemodialysis

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents(ESAs) is the main traditional treatment options for anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. However, in clinical applications, it has been found that there are unmet treatment needs such as low responsiveness and low compliance in ESAs treatment.We reported a 61-year-old male regular hemodialysis patient presented with a moderate anemia, and he accepted sufficient dosage of ESA supplement(r-HuEPO 10000IU/week), the treatment initially effective(hemoglobin concentrations ranging from 82g/L to 101g/L), but the subsequent effects were not satisfactory(hemoglobin levels decreased from 101g/L to 80g/L). Then, the patient’s medication was switched from r-HuEPO to roxadustat at a dosage of 120mg thrice a week and the hemoglobin level increased gradually to 123g/L after 2 months. During the follow-up for 2 years, the patient’s hemoglobin levels were maintained at a normal level, and the dosage of roxadustat gradually decreases to 20mg thrice a week. The latest hemoglobin concentrations was 151g/L, and the patient stopped using roxadustst. Taken together, this case suggests that roxadustat is one of the effective treatments for anemia in dialysis patients, especially those with low response to ESAs.