Efficacy of intravenous and subcutaneous erythropoietin in patients on hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

We carried out our study with 54 hemodialysis patients and 11 CAPD patients. The hemodialysis patients were divided into five groups. Group 1 and group 2 received intermediate doses of erythropoietin ranging from 150 U/Kg/wk to 180 U/Kg/wk. Group 3, group 4 and group 5 received low doses of erythropoietin ranging from 75 U/Kg/wk to 90 U/Kg/wk. While group 1 and group 4 received erythropoietin subcutaneously, group 2 and group 3 received erythropoietin intravenously. The CAPD patients all received subcutaneous erythropoietin. The efficacy of the erythropoietin therapy was evaluated by (1) the early response rate, (2) the late response rate, (3) the time to reach the target hematocrit, (4) the therapeutic cumulative dose, and (5) the maintenance dose. We concluded that: (1) dose is the prime factor determining the rate and ratio of patients response to erythropoietin. (2) subcutaneous administration is more effective than the intravenous route resulting in a 20% to 30% dose-reduction effect, and (3) CAPD patients had a better erythropoietin response than the hemodialysis patients. A larger study is necessary to confirm this finding.