Background and Objective : Anemia is one of the most common complications of end stage renal diseases. Inadequate production of erythropoietin is the main cause of anemia in these patients, and iron deficiency is the other important factor. We designed this study to survey the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in hemodialysis patients referred to hemodialysis ward of Panje Azar hospital in Gorgan, Iran.

  Material and Methods: The subjects of this descriptive and cross-sectional study were all 97 patients undergone permanent hemodialysis. Hemoglobin, Serum Iron, Ferritin, Transferrin saturation and Hemoglobin index were measured to assess iron deficiency anemia. We did data analysis by using chi square, fisher exact test and independent T test in spss 13 environment.

  Results: The prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency anemia were 57.6 and 31.1 percent, respectively. Tranferrin saturation in 29.16 percent of the patients is less than 20%. There was no significant correlation between signs of anemia and variables such as, duration of dialysis, causes of the disease and iron- deficiency anemia (p=0.06). But signs of anemia were significantly correlated (p<0.0001) with erythropoietin. In comparison with patients consumed iron orally, those who used injectable iron had higher serum iron, Hemoglobin and Transferrin saturation (p<0.001).

  Conclusion: Because of high frequency of iron- deficiency that may results in resistance to erythropoietin therapy and leads to inappropriate treatment of iron deficiency. We recommend first treating of ID to prevent from useless administering of erythropoietin.

  Background and Objective: anemia is one of the main problems of chronic renal failure patients undergone Hemodialysis and erythropoietin is not effective for these patients. Since Vitamin C deficiency in Hemodialysis patients is common, this study was performed to compare the effect of intravenous and oral ascorbic acid consumption on anemia in Hemodialysis patients.

  Material and Methods: this clinical trial was conducted on 75 patients, selected via convenience sampling and including criteria (hemoglobin, 11mg/dl ferritin, 100ug/L transferring saturation, < 20%). The subjects were randomly assigned to three equal groups of control , oral ascorbic acid (POAA) and intravenous ascorbic acid (IVAA) After each every-other-day dialysis performed for eight weeks, the patients of IVAA group were given 300mg intravenous vitamin C and the ones of POAA group given 500mg vitamin C orally. The Plasma iron with chemical method, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and ferritin level with indirect method, hemoglobin with cell counter and transferring saturation (TSAT) with related formula were measured. Using a checklist, the data of demographic, laboratory results and side effects were recorded and analyzed by SPSS-13, using ANOVA and scheffe post-hoc test (p≤ 0.05).

  Results: the baseline hemoglobin, serum iron, ferritin, TIBC and TSAT in three groups were not different significantly. After intervention, the hemoglobin level of IVAA group( 20.1g/dl ) and in POAA group (0.99g/dl) were increased compared to control group(P>0.001). the mean of hemoglobin in IVAA was significantly more than POAA (P>0.05).

  Conclusion: based on the results, the use of oral and intravenous vitamin C can be effective in the anemia caused by iron deficiency, especially vitamin C injection that is more beneficial.