Treatment
Patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups: those receiving two capsules of Evoprim (Dalim, Seoul, Korea) (Table 1), containing 40 mg of EPO per capsule, twice daily for eight weeks (160 mg group, n=20), and those who received four of the same capsules twice daily (320 mg group, n=20). There were no significant differences between the two groups in their demographic and clinical characteristics (Table 2). Patients were instructed not to change their diet during the study period. Younger patients who were unable to swallow capsules were advised to cut the capsules open. To check for compliance, each patient's remaining capsules were counted at each visit.