Once weekly treatment with epoetin-ß
A. Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy
Correspondence and offprint requests to: Professor Francesco Locatelli, Divisione di Nefrologia e Dialisi, Via Dell' Eremo, 9/11, 23900 Lecco, Italy. Email: nefrologia{at}ospedale.lecco.it
Studies have shown that both intravenous (i.v.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of epoetin-ß therapy are effective and well tolerated in the treatment of renal anaemia; however, the s.c. route provides enhanced efficacy with a lower dose compared with the i.v. route and it is more cost-effective. Epoetin dosing frequency is an important issue for health care professionals and patients. Recent studies have shown that epoetin-ß administered once weekly and once every 2 weeks can maintain stable target haemoglobin and haematocrit levels in dialysis patients. Such reduced dosing frequencies may improve patient satisfaction and compliance with treatment, and encourage patients to self-administer. Furthermore, less frequent dosing administration would be associated with economic benefits in terms of reduced nursing time in the clinic or out-patient setting. Where this is clinical practice, fewer injections and visits to the clinic should also improve patients' quality of life. A range of effective dosing regimens with epoetin-ß administered via either pre-filled syringes, multidose vials or injector pens allows physicians to tailor treatment to an individual patient's preference.
Keywords: anaemia; chronic kidney disease; dosing frequency; epoetin-ß; haemoglobin
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  X. Bonafont, A. Bock, D. Carter, R. Brunkhorst, F. Carrera, M. Iskedjian, B. Molemans, B. Dehmel, and S. Robbins A meta-analysis of the relative doses of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in patients undergoing dialysis NDT Plus, August 4, 2009; (2009) sfp097v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|