One-year experience of very low doses of subcutaneous erythropoietin in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and its effect on haemostasis

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) is now well established in the management of the anaemia associated with chronic renal failure. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of low doses of subcutaneous (s.c.) erythropoietin in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients and particularly its effects on haemostasis. Seven CAPD patients were given s.c. erythropoietin for more than 1 year. Their mean age was 36.2 ± 9.2 years and their mean pretreatment haemoglobin (Hb) was 7.05 ± 0.53 g/dl. All patients were started on 20 U/kg, 3 times/week, to be doubled every 4 weeks if no response was obtained. Five patients had a good response and attained the target Hb of 10-12 g/dl and were maintained on low doses of rHuEpo (20 U/kg s.c, twice a week). A marked improvement in haemostatic function was noted when comparing the pre- with the post-treatment measurements. There was a significant reduction in the bleeding time, significant increases in fibrinogen and factor VIII clotting activity but not in von Willebrand factor antigen or risto-cetin cofactor. There was also simultaneous enhancement of the platelet aggregation responses to adrenalin, collagen, arachidonic acid and ADP. In conclusion, long-term treatment with small doses of s.c. rHuEpo is safe, convenient and effective in correcting anaemia in patients on CAPD, rHuEpo caused significant improvement of bleeding time which can be explained partly through the correction of anaemia and in part by the improvement in haemostatic function.