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CompletedNCT03731741Updated Nov 8, 2018

Does Oral Pentoxifylline Administration Improve Hemoglobin in Hemodialysis Patients?

A Phase 2 interventional study of Pentoxifylline in Anemia of Chronic Kidney Disease, sponsored by Tanta University. Completed at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-11-08.

Sponsored by Tanta University · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year after the study started (first participant enrolled Nov 2017, registered Nov 2018).
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
57
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

Our study investigated the effect of using a known drug used in intermittent claudication (named pentoxifylline) as an adjuvant to erythropoietin stimulating agents to improve anemia of hemodialysis patients.

Read the detailed description

Fifty out of 57 hemodialysis anemic patients were finally included. They were assigned to two groups of equal numbers. Oral Pentoxifylline 400mg once daily was added to the treatment group which was compared to the control group over a six months period regarding hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum albumin and CRP.

Inclusion criteria: (Patients with ESRD on HD who have hemoglobin \<11 g/dl, taking Erythropoietin alfa 4000 -12000 I.U/wk and having a urea reduction ratio >65%.). There were 57 patients who met the inclusion criteria out of 158 patients.

Exclusion criteria: Iron deficiency anemia with transferrin saturation \<30%, intact PTH>300pg/ml, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency (evidenced by macrocytosis), history of intolerance to pentoxifylline or other xanthine derivatives, recent retinal or cerebral hemorrhage or active peptic ulcer disease, pregnancy or breastfeeding, presence of systemic hematological disease or known hemoglobinopathy, major surgery, infection, acute myocardial infarction, or malignancy within the last three months and patients who refused to participate in the study.

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Conditions studied

  • Anemia of Chronic Kidney Disease
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In context

Kidney Diseases

3,840 studies on the registry are indexed under Kidney Diseases; 500 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 57 is below the median of 70 across 2,640 interventional studies indexed under Kidney Diseases.

Browse Kidney Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

Tanta University is the lead sponsor of 963 studies on the registry; 304 are open to participants now.

Of its 16 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • (Patients with ESRD on HD who have hemoglobin \<11 g/dl, taking Erythropoietin alfa 4000 -12000 I.U/wk and having a urea reduction ratio >65%.). There were 57 patients who met the inclusion criteria out of 158 patients

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Iron deficiency anemia with transferrin saturation \<30%, intact PTH>300pg/ml, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency (evidenced by macrocytosis), history of intolerance to pentoxifylline or other xanthine derivatives, recent retinal or cerebral hemorrhage or active peptic ulcer disease, pregnancy or breastfeeding, presence of systemic hematological disease or known hemoglobinopathy, major surgery, infection, acute myocardial infarction, or malignancy within the last three months and patients who refused to participate in the study.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
57 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    treatment group

    Group I: 29 patients (25 completed the study) that received the study agent (400mg of oral pentoxifylline daily for 6 months.), besides the appropriate weight-based dose of ESA (60-150I.U/kg/wk).

    Drug: Pentoxifylline

  • No intervention
    control group

    Group II: 28 patients (25 completed the study) who did not receive pentoxifylline but they received the appropriate dose of ESA. They were used as a control group and compared to group1 concerning the primary and the secondary outcomes.

Interventions

  • DrugPentoxifylline

    a known drug of xanthine derivatives used in intermittent claudication

    Also known as: Trental

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. hemoglobin difference

    the difference in haemoglobin concentration between the pentoxifylline and control group at the end of the 6 months study period.

    Time frame: after 6 months from the start

Secondary outcomes

  1. difference in inflammatory markers

    Difference in CRP and albumin levels between the two groups

    Time frame: after 6 months from the start

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Study locations

1 site
  • Tanta university hospital
    Tanta, Egypt
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Del Vecchio L, Locatelli F. Anemia in chronic kidney disease patients: treatment recommendations and emerging therapies. Expert Rev Hematol. 2014 Aug;7(4):495-506. doi: 10.1586/17474086.2014.941349. PubMed 25025373 ↗
  • Kuragano T, Kitamura K, Matsumura O, Matsuda A, Hara T, Kiyomoto H, Murata T, Fujimoto S, Hase H, Joki N, Fukatsu A, Inoue T, Itakura Y, Nakanishi T. ESA Hyporesponsiveness Is Associated with Adverse Events in Maintenance Hemodialysis (MHD) Patients, But Not with Iron Storage. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 2;11(3):e0147328. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147328. eCollection 2016. PubMed 26933949 ↗
  • Cooper A, Mikhail A, Lethbridge MW, Kemeny DM, Macdougall IC. Pentoxifylline improves hemoglobin levels in patients with erythropoietin-resistant anemia in renal failure. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2004 Jul;15(7):1877-82. doi: 10.1097/01.asn.0000131523.17045.56. PubMed 15213276 ↗
  • Gonzalez-Espinoza L, Rojas-Campos E, Medina-Perez M, Pena-Quintero P, Gomez-Navarro B, Cueto-Manzano AM. Pentoxifylline decreases serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein in hemodialysis patients: results of a randomized double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012 May;27(5):2023-8. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfr579. Epub 2011 Oct 3. PubMed 21968012 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 8, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03731741
Lead sponsor
Tanta University
Responsible party
Sarah Abdel Mageed (Assistant lecturer of internal medicine, Tanta University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 6, 2018
Start date
Nov 1, 2017
Primary completion
May 3, 2018
Completion
May 4, 2018
Last update
Nov 8, 2018

Study contacts

Atef Taha, M.D
study director · Tanta university hospital

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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