Intraperitoneal Administration of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin

Abstract

Objective To determine the efficacy and safety of intraperitoneal administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients compared to subcutaneous rHuEPO. Design Prospective analysis of an open, nonrandomized investigation. Setting Outpatient CAPD clinics in two university hospitals. Patients Nine adult CAPD patients receiving rHuEPO intraperitoneally and 8 patients receiving rHuEPO sub-cutaneously. Intervention One hundred units of rHuEPO per kilogram of body weight were administered three times a week for 8 weeks or until the target hematocrit of 35% was reached. Thereafter, dosages of rHuEPO were adjusted for response. Intraperitoneal rHuEPO was administered in 1 L of dialysis solution during the night. Measurements Efficacy was assessed by measuring the increase in hemoglobin. Tolerance was assessed by monitoring side effects. Results In the first 8 weeks of treatment hemoglobin concentration increased from 64.5±12.9 glL to 98.3±16.1 g/L (p<0.0005) in the intra peritoneally treated group. In the subcutaneously treated group hemoglobin increased significantlyfaster (p<0.05) from 72.5±4.8 g/L to 119.2±11.3 g/L (p<0.0005) in the same period. Antihypertensive medication had to be increased or instituted in most of the patients in both groups. The incidence of peritonitis in the intraperitoneally treated group was not increased when compared to the pretreatment incidence. Conclusions Subcutaneously administered rHuEPO is superior to intraperitoneally administered rHuEPO with regard to the required dosages. However, the results of this study show that intraperitoneal administration of rHuEPO might be a convenient and safe alternative when subcutaneous administration is undesirable.