Erythropoietin dose and survival of hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is known as a major health problem worldwide (Levey et al., 2007). The CKD is defined as a stage of disease in which the patient's kidney function is less than a half of normal capacity (2). If the kidney function is 10% to 15% less than the normal capacity, the patient has reached the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). At this stage, the kidney transplant or dialysis with hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis is necessary for patient's survival (Levey et al., 2002).