Testing a single monthly dose of darbepoetin alpha to maintain hemoglobin levels in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

Testing a single monthly dose of darbepoetin alpha to maintain hemoglobin levels in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients. Adv Perit Dial. 2011;27:60-4 Authors: Suzuki H, Inoue T, Watanabe Y, Kikuta T, Sato T, Tsuda M, Uchida K Abstract The newly developed erythropoiesis agent darbepoetin alpha (DA) allows for once-monthly dosing in the treatment of anemia in patients on dialysis. This dosing schedule has prompted some studies to examine the efficacy of DA in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). In the present study, we assessed whether intravenous (IV) administration of DA once monthly is effective for maintaining hemoglobin levels near 10.5 g/dL in patients on CAPD. This single-center prospective cohort study included 52 clinically stable patients (25 men, 27 women; mean age: 59 +/- 10 years). All patients had been on a stable weekly or twice monthly regimen of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) before initiation of the study. To determine the monthly dose of DA, the previously used mean weekly dose of rHuEPO was divided by 200 to determine the equivalent weekly dose of DA in micrograms; that number was then multiplied by 4 to generate the monthly dose requirement. For example, if 3000 IUrHuEPO was being administered weekly, then the monthly dose of DA was calculated to be 60 microg (3000/200 x 4). All patients received a monthly dose of DA the first month, and hemoglobin and other routi...
Source: Advances in Peritoneal Dialysis. Conference on Peritoneal Dialysis - Category: Urology & Nephrology Tags: Adv Perit Dial Source Type: research