Hemoglobin variability and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: Hemoglobin (Hb) variability has been reported to be associated with mortality in dialysis patients in some but not all studies. We aimed to establish the prognostic significance of Hb variability with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients through this meta-analysis.

METHODS: The Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases were searched for studies assessing the association between Hb variability and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients after adjustment for other covariates.

RESULTS: We included 3 studies of 5 cohorts with a total of 262641 patients. Forest plots showed that the combined HR for all-cause mortality was 1.09 (95% CI, 1.01-1.08, P=0.03) per 1 g/dl increase in Hb variability.

CONCLUSION: Based on the current evidence, our meta-analysis found an association between Hb variability and all-cause mortality in patients receiving hemodialysis therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.