Relation between serum zinc and Erythropoietin responsiveness in prevalent Hemodialysis patients

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) is a blood purification treatment that mainly aims to equilibrate the composition of the patient's sera and the dialysate over a semipermeable dialyzer membrane in order to eliminate metabolic waste products. The equilibrium of solutes across the dialyzer membrane is affected by a wide variety of parameters. Due to zinc elimination during hemodialysis (HD), decreased serum albumin levels, insufficient nutritional intake, and poor gastrointestinal absorption of zinc, patients on HD have been observed to have low blood concentrations of zinc. Patients and Methods: This Cross-Sectional study was recruited 50 patients with CKD who attended outpatient department (OPD) of Nephrology in National Institute of Nephrology & Urology. The duration of the study ranged from 6-12 months. All patients were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, medication use and Laboratory Investigations. Zinc and Ferritin were measured. Results: Mean age 52.16 ± 11.91 years, 66% of the patients were females and 34% of the males with 25.45 ± 3.61 kg/m2. Mean hemoglobin was 9.95 ± 1.25 g/dl, and mean CRP was 8.21 ± 2.14 U/L. Mean ferritin was 521.49 ± 143.05 ng/ml, mean TIBC was 308.56 ± 44.35 µg/dl, and mean T-sat was 36.05 ± 8.98 %. mean HD duration was 49.3 ± 55.17 months, mean KT/V was 1.26 ± 0.245, median EPO dose was 8000 IU per week, and mean ERI was 9.42 ± 4.77 There was a negative significant correlation between zinc with disease duration, ferritin, TIBC, CRP and ERI. Conclusion: In conclusion, there was a negative significant correlation between zinc with disease duration, ferritin, TIBC, CRP and ERI. Zinc and HD duration found to be independent factors that influencing ERI in HD patients.