Abstract
The effects of rEPO on anemia of predialysis pediatric patients was evaluated in this study. Ten male and 11 female children with chronic renal failure and peripheral blood hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit values under 8g/dl and 24%, respectively, were included in the study. Their serum creatinine levels ranged from 4mg/dl to 10mg/dl and creatinine clearance was under 25ml/min. The average age of the subjects was 11.0+/-1.2 years old. Original renal diseases were hypoplastic kidney (6 cases), nephrotic syndrome (3 cases) and others (12 cases). rEPO was injected intravenously at a dose of 50U/kg, 1-2 times per week for 4 weeks. When hemoglobin was increased 1g/dl or hematocrit 3%, the treatment was continued at the same dose for another 4 weeks. When anemia was not improved, the dose was increased to 100U/kg. A total of 81.0% of the patients benefitted from rEPO. During the treatment, renal function was improved in 9 of 19 cases, deteriorated in 9 and was unchanged in one. There was no significant relationship between original disease, age, sex and other parameters, and changes in renal function. There were no remarkable side effects except for hypertension in one patient.
