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Objective: To compare the effect of small doses of recombinant erythropoietin on anemia of patients with chronic kidney disease who need dialysis and those are not on dialysis. Design: Case-comparative study. Setting: Nephrology Department in Al-Salaam Teaching Hospital, Mosul. Methods: Eighty patients having chronic kidney disease (40 patients needed dialysis and 40 patients needed no dialysis) participated in the study. Epoetin alfa given s.c. in a dose of 4000 IU, 2 times weekly. Hemoglobin was measured before drug administration and every 2 weeks and at the end of the trial period (3 months). Result: A significant increase of hemoglobin level had been obtained after treatment with erythropoietin in both groups. Comparison between hemoglobin elevation of both groups (3.0 g/l for patients without dialysis and 2.9 g/l for patients with dialysis) revealed a non significant difference (P>0.5). Conclusion: the present study demonstrated that the administration of epoetin alfa, s.c. in a dose of 4000 IU twice weekly is effective in the elevation of hemoglobin levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. The effect is comparable in patients who need dialysis and in patients who need no dialysis, also the effect is similar in both sexes.

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