Predeposit autologous blood donation (PABD) with recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) has recently come into widespread use. To determine the optimal route of r-HuEPO administration for PABD, we investigated the effects of r-HuEPO by different routes on predeposit autologous 1, 200ml blood donation courses in 71 patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. The patients were divided into three groups as follows: 36 patients were given r-HuEPO two or three times a week intravenously, 21 were given r-HuEPO once a week subcutaneously, and 14 without r-HuEPO served as controls. The increase in hemoglobin concentration in both r-HuEPO administration groups (3.46±1.16g/dl intravenous; 2.40±0.76g/dl subcutaneous) was significantly greater than that in the controls (1.47±1.04g/dl). To further compare the effects of r-HuEPO by both routes, regression analysis between increase in hemoglobin concentration per week period and total dose of r-HuEPO divided by body weight was done. The hemoglobin increase (y) demonstrated a significant positive linear correlation with r-HuEPO dose (x) in both groups (y=5.0×10-4+0.28, r=0.86 for the intravenous group, y=4.7×10-4+0.37, r=0.55 for the subcutaneous group), with the two lines revealing no significant difference from each other. In conclusion, both routes of r-HuEPO administration given under the same total dose are equally efficacious in raising hemoglobin concentration level.
