RESUMO
Treatment of anaemia of renal origin by recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) is well established and is considered to be an integral part of therapy in patients with chronic renal failure. An open, non-controlled and multicenter study was designed with aim to verify the dosage of EPO, necessary to reach and maintain rational correction of renal anaemia in a representative group of patients in chronic haemodialysis (HD) treatment. Target range of haemoglobin (Hb) was defined to be 100-120 g/l in adult patient, length of maintenance phase of follow-up 6 months. 183 patients from z 8 HD centres were included to the study, in this number 83 (45.4%) men and 100 (54.6%) women, aged 59.8 +/- 14.4 years (min. 20 and max. 87 years). During the next 6 months haemoglobin levels raised from baseline value Hb0 100 g/l to Hb1 102.9, resp. Hb2-104.9, Hb3 106.1, Hb4 107.5, Hb5 108.2 and Hb6 108.1 g/l; while mean total weekly doses of EPO/kg (TWD/kg) in the respective period corresponded to TWD/kg0 62 IU, resp. TWD/kg1 66 IU, TWD/kg2 67 IU, TWD/kg3 62 IU, TWD/kg4 64 IU, TWD/kg5 60 IU, TWD/kg6 56 IU. Clinical complications (inflammatory state, bleeding...) that could in different extent reduce the effectivity of EPO treatment were observed in 50 cases. No serious clinical complications that could be attributed to EPO treatment were found. On basis of results of our study, it is justified to assume that target range of Hb between 100-120 g/l can be reached with relatively modest increase of EPO dosage in comparison to current praxis in HD centres in CR, and that following cautious dosing of EPO (comparable to the dosing schema in our study) the treatment should not be connected with the development of major clinical complications.
