The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the safety and effectiveness of
epoetin omega (produced in baby hamster kidney cells) and
epoetin alfa (produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells) in sustaining the correction of
anemia in maintenance
hemodialysis patients. The study, a prospective and controlled crossover, was completed in 38 stable patients treated with both epoetins for 24 weeks. Group
A (17 patients) started with
epoetin omega, and Group B (21 patients) started with
epoetin alfa. After 24 weeks, a 4 week crossover (wash out) was made: Group A was switched to
epoetin alfa and group B to
epoetin omega for the next test period of 24 weeks. Both epoetins were administered subcutaneously after each dialysis. Doses were adjusted with the aim of maintaining a target
hemoglobin level between 10 and 12 g/dl (hematocrit 30% to 35%). The mean weekly dose of
epoetin omega/kg
body weight (BW) was 67 +/- 43 U. The mean weekly dose of
epoetin alfa/kg BW was 86 +/- 53 U. The average of all mean values of
hemoglobin (Hb) during treatment with
epoetin omega was 11.4 +/- 0.7 g/dl (hematocrit 34 +/- 2%), and during treatment with
epoetin alfa was 11.3 +/- 0.7 g/dl (hematocrit 33 +/- 2%) (not significant).
Thromboses of vascular access occurred in 3 patients during an
epoetin omega treatment and in 3 patients during
epoetin alfa treatment. At the site of injection, only 1 patient described a mild
pain when treated with
epoetin omega and only 6 patients when treated with
epoetin alfa. In conclusion, both
epoetin omega and
epoetin alfa were effective in correcting the
anemia of all studied patients. However, lower doses of
epoetin omega were needed to maintain the same target
hemoglobin level. No serious side effects with either epoetin were noted. The authors believe that additional comparisons of different epoetin preparations should be performed and will provide better insight into their
biological activity and clinical responsiveness.