Treatment of the anemia of hemodialysis patients with recombinant human erythropoietin.
Fifteen long-term hemodialysis patients suffering from stable anemia received recombinant human erythropoietin (r-huEPO). The hormone was given intravenously at the end of each dialysis session starting with a dose of 24 IU/kg. This dose was doubled when hemoglobin levels did not rise within 2 weeks. The number of reticulocytes started to increase after 14 days of treatment. The hematocrit rose from baseline values of 23.7 +/- 1.2% to 32.4 +/- 1.3% after 24 weeks of treatment. In parallel, hemoglobin values increased from 7.3 +/- 0.3 g/100 ml to 10.1 +/- 0.4 g/100 ml. As for side effects, 3 patients developed hypertension and 2 patients suffered from occlusions of their arterio-venous fistulas. There was no evidence of major organ dysfunctions, toxic effects, allergic reactions, or antibody formation. These data show that r-HuEPO is able to correct the anemia of patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment.
Schaefer
R M
RM
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, FRG.
Kuerner
B
B
Zech
M
M
Denninger
G
G
Borneff
C
C
Heidland
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004906:Erythrocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count / Q000187:drug effects; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000187:drug effects
D006454:Hemoglobins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D005293:Ferritins