Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of iron supplementation and levocarnitine on hemoglobin level in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods Sixty MHD patients were randomly divided into three groups. All patients enrolled had undergone hemodialysis for at least three months before the study and were in an iron-deficiency status with anemia.In the group A,patients were treated with oral iron 600mg/d. In the group B, patients received an intravenous infusion of iron saccharate 100mg twice a week and the total dosage was 1000mg. In the group C, 1g of levocarnitine were infused to the patient at the end of each dialysis treatment. All the patients received three months’EPO therapy, while the parameters for hemoglobin，ferritin and nutritional state were studied. Results After three months’therapy, the average level of hemoglobin increased markedly in all groups (P＜0.05 respectively); And the average serum level of ferritin in group B and group C (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01 respectively) the average serum level of albumin and pre-albumin in group C were also elevated after the treatments; The average serum level of carnitine and protein catabolic rate (PCR) were significantly higher than the baseline in group C (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01), but not observed in the other two groups; Kt/V kept stable in the three groups(P＞0.05). Conclusion Intravenous supplementation of iron and levocarnitine in maintenance hemodialysis patients appears to be associated with an improvement in hemoglobin levels.

Key words: Anemia, Hemoglobin