Table 1 Clinical characteristics
| Â | Study Patients | aGroup 1 | bGroup 2 | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 92) | (n = 32) | (n = 60) | ||
Age (years) | 71.9 ± 14.0 | 73.7 ± 12.9 | 71.0 ± 14.5 | 0.37 |
Gender (male/female) | 62/30 | 20/12 | 42/18 | 0.49 |
Diabetes Mellitus (resent/absent) | 42/50 | 16 / 16 | 26 / 34 | 0.54 |
Haemodialysis time (hours/week) | 15.9 ± 4.2 | 15.3 ± 3.3 | 16.2 ± 4.6 | 0.36 |
Intradialytic ultrafiltration rate (ml/hour/kg) | 8.8 ± 2.9 | 9.1 ± 3.0 | 8.6 ± 2.9 | 0.40 |
Kt/v | 1.72 ± 0.48 | 1.7 ± 0.5 | 1.8 ± 0.5 | 0.38 |
Erythrocyte creatine content (μmol/gHb) | 1.89 ± 0.73 | 2.47 ± 0.74 | 1.57 ± 0.49 | 0.0001 |
ESA dose (units/week) | 6,396.7 ± 3,746.3 | 7429.7 ± 3623.0 | 5845.8 ± 3723.2 | 0.04 |
Low dose (< 9,000) | 53 | 13 | 40 | 0.016 |
High dose (≥ 9,000) | 39 | 19 | 20 |  |
Haemoglobin at baseline (g/dL) | 10.4 ± 1.2 | 10.0 ± 1.3 | 10.6 ± 1.0 | 0.004 |
Haemoglobin at 3 months (g/dL) | 10.6 ± 1.3 | 11.1 ± 1.4 | 10.3 ± 1.2 | 0.007 |
Reticulocyte (%) | 14.1 ± 6.2 | 14.3 ± 7.3 | 14.0 ± 5.6 | 0.81 |
Haptoglobin (g/dL) | 93.6 ± 52.2 | 101.1 ± 52.5 | 89.7 ± 52.0 | 0.32 |
Transferrin saturation (%) | 27.8 ± 16.2 | 23.5 ± 12.3 | 28.5 ± 17.4 | 0.16 |
Ferritin (ng/mL) | 121.3 ± 106.5 | 100.6 ± 89.4 | 145.6 ± 245.3 | 0.32 |
Iron deficiency (present/ absent) | 38/54 | 16/16(50.0%) | 22/38(36.7%) | 0.27 |
Intact parathyroid hormone (pg/mL) | 152.3 ± 102.0 | 170.3 ± 139.5 | 143.7 ± 77.9 | 0.30 |
C-reactive protein (mg/dL) | 0.33 ± 0.37 | 0.38 ± 0.46 | 0.30 ± 0.31 | 0.33 |
Serum calcium (mg/dL) | 9.5 ± 0.5 | 9.4 ± 0.5 | 9.5 ± 0.5 | 0.25 |
Serum phosphorus (mg/dL) | 4.9 ± 1.4 | 4.7 ± 1.4 | 5.0 ± 1.3 | 0.32 |
Albumin (g/dL) | 3.6 ± 0.4 | 3.5 ± 0.4 | 3.7 ± 0.4 | 0.05 |