SynthesisInternational urology and nephrology2021
Effect of L-carnitine supplementation on renal anemia in patients on hemodialysis: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International urology and nephrology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05817799 (Impact of Hemodialysis on Plasma Carnitine Levels in Patients With End Stage Renal Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Impact of Hemodialysis on Plasma Carnitine Levels in Patients With End Stage Renal Disease
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Iron, ESA, and HIF-Inhibitors: Are There Other Opportunities to Improve Anemia of CKD?Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Randomized Clinical Trial for the Optimization of Dyslipidemia Management in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease Undergoing In-Hospital Maintenance Hemodialysis Therapy.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Carnitine Deficiency in Chronic Kidney Disease: Pathophysiology, Clinical Implications, and Therapeutic Perspectives.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Efficacy of Intravenous Versus Oral Administration of Levocarnitine in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating Therapeutic Approaches to Renal Anemia.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Significance of Levocarnitine Treatment in Dialysis Patients.Nutrients · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundL-carnitine is an amino acid derivative that is thought to be helpful for treating renal anemia in hemodialysis patients. However, the mechanism remains to be fully elucidated.
methodsA literature search was performed on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and conduct a meta-analysis for investigating the effect of L-carnitine in the treatment of renal anemia in participants receiving hemodialysis.
resultsA total of 18 eligible trials with 1090 participants were included in this study. L-carnitine can significantly increase plasma free L-carnitine levels (mean difference [MD]: 140.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 102.22-178.85; P < 0.00001), decrease the erythropoietin responsiveness index (ERI; MD: -2.72, 95% CI -3.20 to -2.24; P < 0.00001) and the required erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) doses (MD: -1.70, 95% CI -2.04 to -1.36; P < 0.00001). However, the use of L-carnitine was not associated with a higher hemoglobin level (MD: 0.18, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.55; P = 0.35) and hematocrit level (MD: 1.07, 95% CI -0.73 to 2.87; P = 0.24). In subgroup analyses, the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on renal anemia in patients on hemodialysis were independent of the treatment duration and intervention routes.
conclusionThe present meta-analysis indicated that L-carnitine therapy significantly increased plasma L-carnitine concentrations, improved the response to ESA, decreased the required ESA doses in patients receiving hemodialysis, and maintained hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. L-carnitine supplementation should be supported in hemodialysis patients. However, the relationship between L-carnitine treatment and long-term outcomes is still unclear. Further high-quality RCTs are needed to verify our findings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.