• Rouba Garro, Scott Sutherland, Liz Bayes, Steven Alexander, and Cynthia Wong.
• Department of Pediatrics, Division of Nephrology, Emory University, 2015 Uppergate Drive NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA, rgarro@emory.edu.
• Pediatr. Nephrol. 2015 Jun 1;30(6):991-8.

BackgroundThe national average for achieving the KDOQI-recommended hemoglobin (Hgb) target level of 11-12 g/dL is low with the current anemia management protocol of measuring Hgb levels every 2-4 weeks to guide intervention. The objective of this study was to correlate initial Hgb readings from the CRIT-LINE monitor with actual serum Hgb levels in pediatric patients on hemodialysis (HD).MethodsData were collected from pediatric HD patients who had Hgb tests ordered for routine and/or clinical reasons. Hgb concentrations were read with the CRIT-LINE after 0.5 or 1 L of blood had been processed by HD in patients with a body weight of ≤20 or >20 kg, respectively. Ultrafiltration was kept at a minimum until the CRIT-LINE Hgb was read.ResultsIn total, 217 Hgb readings from 23 HD patients were analyzed. Results showed a statistically significant correlation between CRIT-LINE readings and laboratory Hgb measurements (r = 0.94, p < 0.0001) using Pearson correlation coefficients for well-distributed data. The mean Hgb levels measured by CRIT-LINE and the laboratory were 11.12 ± 1.63 and 11.31 ± 1.69 g/dL, respectively.ConclusionsThe CRIT-LINE monitor is an accurate instrument for monitoring Hgb levels in HD patients. Further studies will be needed to evaluate whether using CRIT-LINE Hgb levels to guide anemia management will improve the percentage of children with Hgb levels within target.

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