The Relationship Between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Reflux-Related Renal Injury in Infant and Children

Anemia may be defined either quantitatively or physiologically. A diagnosis of anemia is determined by comparison of the patient's hemoglobin level with age-specific and sex-specific normal values. The easiest quantitative definition of anemia is any hemoglobin or hematocrit value that is 2 standard deviations (SDs) (95% confidence limits) below the mean for age and gender. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anemia and reflux nephropathy in patients with vesicoureteral reflux. Material and Methods: This case-control study included 260 children aged from 6 months to 2 years. They were divided into two groups of 130 children: the case group suffered from VUR with reflux nephropathy and the control group had VUR without reflux nephropathy. Results: The results of our study showed that the prevalence of anemia in the reflux nephropathy group was not considerably different than that of the control group. Conclusions: We conclude that there is no direct correlation between anemia and reflux nephropathy in patients with vesicoureteral reflux.