Abstract
We report a case of secondary hemosiderosis in a patient undergoing CAPD who was successfully treated with intravenous deferoxamine (DFO) administration.
The patient, a 51-year-old male with chronic renal failure and a history of 4 years of CAPD after 5 years of hemodialysis, had suffered from severe anemia and had received over 30 liters of transfused blood during the initial 5 years. He showed general pigmentation, impotence and liver dysfunction during the past 2 years. His hematocrit was 18.9%, serum iron concentration was 405μg/dl, and ferritin was highly elevated to 8, 200ng/ml Furthermore, ultrasonography revealed a “bright” liver caused by the heavy iron burden.
Intravenous DFO admistration was started as iron chelation therapy. The optimal dosage of DFO was determined to be 1.5g two times per week, because iron continued to be excreted in the spent dialysate for almost 3 days after DFO administration.
This therapy, which continued for the 16 months from March 1987 to July 1988, lowered the serum iron, ferritin, GOT and GPT levels to their normal ranges, but was not effective for his anemic state. No drug toxicity appeared during this study.
We suggest that intravenous DFO administration (1.5g given two times per week) is effective and safe for secondary hemosiderosis in CAPD patients.
