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Original Article
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Volume 351:1403-1408 September 30, 2004 Number 14
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Pure Red-Cell Aplasia and Epoetin Therapy
Charles L. Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.P., Stefano Luminari, M.D., Allen R. Nissenson, M.D., Martin S. Tallman, M.D., Stephen A. Klinge, B.A., Norene McWilliams, J.D., M.P.H., June M. McKoy, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., Benjamin Kim, M.D., E. Allison Lyons, B.A., Steve M. Trifilio, R.P.H., Dennis W. Raisch, Ph.D., Andrew M. Evens, D.O., Timothy M. Kuzel, M.D., Glen T. Schumock, Pharm.D., M.B.A., Steven M. Belknap, M.D., Francesco Locatelli, M.D., Jerôme Rossert, M.D., Ph.D., and Nicole Casadevall, M.D.

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ABSTRACT

Background Between 1988 and 1998, antibody-associated pure red-cell aplasia was reported in three patients who had undergone treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin). Between 1998 and 2000, 13 such cases were reported from France — 12 in patients who had received the Eprex formulation of epoetin alfa and 1 in a patient who had received Neorecormon (a formulation of epoetin beta); both are products that are marketed outside the United States.

Methods We obtained reports of epoetin-associated pure red-cell aplasia from the Food and Drug Administration and from the manufacturers of Eprex, Epogen (another formulation of epoetin alfa), and Neorecormon. The numbers of case reports and estimates of exposure-adjusted incidence were analyzed according to the product, the cause of anemia, the route of administration, the country in which pure red-cell aplasia was identified, and the date on which pure red-cell aplasia was reported.

Results Between January 1998 and April 2004, 175 cases of epoetin-associated pure red-cell aplasia were reported for Eprex, 11 cases for Neorecormon, and 5 cases for Epogen. Over half these cases had occurred in France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Between 2001 and 2003, the estimated exposure-adjusted incidence was 18 cases per 100,000 patient-years for the Eprex formulation without human serum albumin, 6 per 100,000 patient-years for the Eprex formulation with human serum albumin, 1 case per 100,000 patient-years for Neorecormon, and 0.2 case per 100,000 patient-years for Epogen. After procedures were adopted to ensure appropriate storage, handling, and administration of Eprex to patients with chronic kidney disease, the exposure-adjusted incidence decreased by 83 percent worldwide.

Conclusions After the peak incidence of Eprex-associated pure red-cell aplasia was reached in 2001, interventions designed in response to drug-monitoring programs worldwide resulted in a reduction of more than 80 percent in the incidence of pure red-cell aplasia due to Eprex.


Source Information

From the Midwest Center for Health Services Research and Policy Studies, Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (C.L.B.); Division of Hematology and Oncology (C.L.B., M.S.T., A.M.E., T.M.K.), Division of Geriatrics (J.M.M.), and Division of General Internal Medicine (S.M.B.), all in the Department of Medicine (B.K.); and Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies (C.L.B., S.A.K., N.M., E.A.L.), Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (C.L.B., M.S.T., A.M.E., T.M.K.); Department of Pharmacy, Northwestern Memorial Hospital (S.T.); and Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago (G.T.S.) — all in Chicago; Dipartimento di Oncologia ed Ematologia, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy (S.L.); Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (A.R.N.); Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Program Clinical Research Pharmaceutical Coordinating Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (D.W.R.); Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, A. Manzoni Hospital, Lecco, Italy (F.L.); and Department of Nephrology, Tenon Hospital, Pierre and Marie Curie University (J.R.); and Department of Hematology, Hôtel-Dieu, and INSERM Unité 352 (N.C.) — all in Paris.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Bennett at the Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 333 E. Huron St., Suite 277, Chicago, IL 60611, or at cbenne{at}northwestern.edu.

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Related Letters:

Epoetin and Pure Red-Cell Aplasia
Braun M.M., Wise R. P., Wood J. J., Bennett C., Casadevall N., Cournoyer D.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 352:511-512, Feb 3, 2005. Correspondence

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