American Journal of Internal Medicine 2022; 10(1): 8-12 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajim doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20221001.12 ISSN: 2330-4316 (Print); ISSN: 2330-4324 (Online) Blood Count Under the Effect of Erythropoietin (EPO) in Patients with Chronic Hemodialysis Elvedin Osmanovic 1, * , Mersiha Cerkezovic 1 , Almir Jagodic 2 1 Hemodialysis Center, Public Health Institution Health Centre Zivinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Public Health Institution Health Center Zivinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina Email address: * Corresponding author To cite this article: Elvedin Osmanovic, Mersiha Cerkezovic, Almir Jagodic. Blood Count Under the Effect of Erythropoietin (EPO) in Patients with Chronic Hemodialysis. American Journal of Internal Medicine. Vol. 10, No. 1, 2022, pp. 8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20221001.12 Received: December 18, 2021; Accepted: January 5, 2022; Published: January 12, 2022 Abstract: One of the most common associated diseases in dialysis patients is anemia. The number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit is reduced in patients that suffer from anemia. These three measurement parameters represent the most important "red part" of the blood count. Due to renal insufficiency, patients on hemodialysis do not have enough erythropoietin, which healthy kidneys excreted, and is necessary for hematopoiesis. Erythropoietin (EPO) is the main regulator of the daily production of red blood cells. EPO that is execrated by peritubular capillary membrane cells in the kidneys circulates within plasma in order to interact with target cells in the bone marrow to maintain or stimulate erythropoiesis. The main purpose of the action of EPO is the formation of erythroid colonies. During observation of differences in the ordination of EPO in each group between men and women, there is no statistical significance evident in the incidence of anemia before and after therapy, as in p=0.70. The target concentration of hemoglobin, which must be constantly maintained in people with chronic renal anemia, is 110-120 g/l, while the target value of the number of red blood cells is 4-5x10 12 /l and the hematocrit value is 0.35-4.5 l/l, with a slight outflow depending on the gender of the patient. The final values of the participants in our study treated with epoetin alpha show higher values of hemoglobin, hematocrit and erythrocytes, while the average values recorded in participants treated with darbepoetin decreased. Keywords: Erythropoietin, Hemodialysis, Erythrocytes, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit 1. Introduction One of the most common associated diseases in chronic hemodialysis patients is anemia. The number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit is reduced in patients that suffer from anemia. These three measurement parameters represent the most important "red part" of the blood count [2]. Due to renal insufficiency, patients on hemodialysis do not have enough erythropoietin, which healthy kidneys excreted, and is necessary for hematopoiesis. Erythropoietin (EPO) is the main regulator of the daily production of red blood cells. EPO is excreted by peritubular capillary membrane cells in the kidney, and it circulates in plasma to interact with target cells in the bone marrow to maintain or stimulate erythropoiesis. The primary goal of EPO action is the formation of an erythroid colony [13]. Anemia is still common among chronic hemodialysis patients, despite the regular use of recombinant human erythropoietin. Anemia is a common complication in patients with chronic kidney disease, which reduces their quality of life. It can sometimes be the first sign of kidney disease, but it most often occurs in the third stage of chronic renal failure, and worsens as the disease progresses [3]. Anemia requiring transfusion is characterized by erythrocyte count<2.5 million/ml blood, hemoglobin<70 g/l and hematocrit<0.2 l/l, and in these cases a blood transfusion treatment is required [14]. There are four mechanisms of anemia. The first pathophysiological mechanism is a decrease in the production of the hormone erythropoietin. Another pathophysiological mechanism is reduced red blood cell production due to inhibition of bone marrow by uremic toxins which on the one hand stop heme synthesis and on the other hand stem cell differentiation. The third mechanism involves a shortened life span of red blood cells. This