Laboratory variables and treatment adequacy in hemodialysis patients in Iran

This study aims to evaluate the laboratory variables in Iranian hemodialysis pa-tients. We studied 338 patients in 6 dialysis centers around the country. Sixty four percent of the patients were anemic, and the mean of hemoglobin levels in the patients was 9.6 +/- 1.9 g/dL. Women had a significantly higher prevalence of anemia (p= 0.004); however, considering the absolute hemoglobin values, there was no significant difference between genders (p> 0.05). The mean urea reduction ratio (URR) and Kt/V in the patients were 62.6 +/- 12.8 and 1.17 +/- 0.31, respectively. Hyperphosphatemia and hyperkalemia were observed in 50% and 58%, respectively. We conclude that our study demonstrated a relatively high prevalence of anemia and hyper-phosphatemia, however, a surprisingly good dialysis urea clearance in the Iranian hemodialysis patients. We should exploit more effort to maintain hemoglobin and serum phosphate levels with-in the target ranges.