Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Dec 25, 2024; 13(4): 100268
Published online Dec 25, 2024. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v13.i4.100268
Vitamin B12 deficiency in dialysis patients: risk factors, diagnosis, complications, and treatment: A comprehensive review
Ghada Araji, Praneeth R Keesari, Varun Chowdhry, Jonathan Valsechi-Diaz, Sarah Afif, Wassim Diab, Suzanne El-Sayegh
Ghada Araji, Praneeth R Keesari, Varun Chowdhry, Jonathan Valsechi-Diaz, Wassim Diab, Department of Internal Medicine, Northwell Health-Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, NY 10305, United States
Sarah Afif, Department of Internal Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine, New York, NY 10031, United States
Suzanne El-Sayegh, Department of Nephrology, Northwell Health-Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, NY 10305, United States
Co-first authors: Ghada Araji and Praneeth R Keesari.
Author contributions: Araji G and Keesari PR were involved in the conception and design of the study, drafting the article, and making critical revisions; Chowdhry V, Valsechi-Diaz J, and Afif S were involved in acquisition and interpretation of data, and drafting the article; Diab W and El-Sayegh S were involved in conception and design of the study, and making critical revisions; All authors approved the final version of the article to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ghada Araji, MD, Doctor, Department of Internal Medicine, Northwell Health-Staten Island University Hospital, 475 Seaview Ave, Staten Island, NY 10305, United States. garaji@northwell.edu
Received: August 11, 2024
Revised: September 24, 2024
Accepted: October 8, 2024
Published online: December 25, 2024
Processing time: 87 Days and 10 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This review highlights the critical yet often overlooked issue of vitamin B12 deficiency in dialysis patients, emphasizing its complex diagnosis and severe complications such as anemia, neuropathy, and cardiovascular risk. The review advocates for a proactive approach in diagnosing and managing vitamin B12 deficiency, recommending comprehensive assessments beyond standard serum levels and highlighting the efficacy of high-dose oral and parenteral supplementation. These insights underscore the necessity for heightened awareness and targeted interventions to improve patient outcomes in this vulnerable population.