COMPARISON OF PLASMA ERYTHROPOIETIN CONCENTRATIONS AND IRON STATUS INHEMODIALYZED PATIENTS NOT REQUIRING AND REQUIRING RHUEPO THERAPY

Fifty patients treated with chronic hemodialysis (HD) were observed fo r 1 year. 24 of them (48%) did not require treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) (group I) because the permanent hemoglob in (Hb) concentration was > 5.9 mmol/l (9.5 g/dl), hematocrit > 30%. T he remaining 26 patients (group II) permanently or periodically requir ed rHuEpo treatment. After 6 months of initial observation and after 6 months of clinical study we made a comparison of endogenous erythropo ietin(Epo) and iron status in two groups of patients. Patients not req uiring treatment with rHuEpo had statistically significant higher Epo concentration and lower iron reserves than patients on rHuEpo treatmen t. We did not find significant differences in Hb, albumin and creatini ne between patients in both groups. Hb concentration did not correlate with the level of Epo, serum creatinine, transferrin saturation, ferr itin, iron reserves and time of dialysis therapy in both groups. In bo th groups we found a significant negative correlation between the conc entration of Epo and iron stores. Our results indicate that in patient s on HD treatment, plasma Epo level appears to depend either directly or indirectly on iron status.