Erythrocytosis in Gender-Affirming Care With Testosterone.
Ann Fam Med
; 21(5): 403-407, 2023.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37748907
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is safe overall, with few adverse effects. One potential effect from using testosterone for GAHT is an increase in hemoglobin and/or hematocrit, known as secondary erythrocytosis. Current guidelines recommend monitoring hemoglobin or hematocrit routinely in the first year, some as frequently as every 3 months, which can create barriers to care. Our study explored the incidence of erythrocytosis in the first 20 months of testosterone therapy among people receiving gender-affirming care.METHODS:
This is a descriptive fixed cohort study of hematocrit and hemoglobin data from the charts of 282 people taking testosterone for GAHT.RESULTS:
During the first 20 months of testosterone therapy, the cumulative incidence of hematocrit >50.4% was 12.6%, hematocrit >52% was 1.0%, and hematocrit >54% was 0.6%. All people were taking injectable testosterone cypionate, with a median dose of 100 mg weekly.CONCLUSION:
Severe erythrocytosis (hematocrit >54%) is a rare outcome of gender-affirming testosterone therapy. Clinical recommendations should reconsider the need for routine frequent erythrocytosis screening within the first year of testosterone therapy for patients who prefer to minimize laboratory draws.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Policitemia
/
Efeitos Colaterais e Reações Adversas Relacionados a Medicamentos
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article