EPIAO Dosage/Direction for Use

CRF Patients: Epoetin α should be administrated under direct medical supervision. Epoetin α may be given either as an IV or SC injection, 2-3 times weekly. The dose should be adjusted according to anemia degree, age and other related factors.
Treatment with Epiao is divided into 2 stages, correction and maintenance phase.
Correction Phase: The recommended starting dose is 100-150 iu/kg for hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, and 75-100 iu/kg for patients not on dialysis (ND). The dose may be increased by 15-30 iu/kg 4 weeks after administration as the increment of hematocrit is <0.5 vol%/week. But the maximum dose increase should not exceed 30 iu/kg weekly and hematocrit should not exceed 36 vol%, usually at 30-33%.
Maintenance Phase: The dose of Epiao should be reduced to ²/₃ of the correction phase as hematocrit approaches 30-33% or hemoglobin approaches 100-110 g/L. Hematocrit should be monitored every 2-4 weeks to prevent excessive erythropoiesis and keep hematocrit and hemoglobin at proper level.
For HD patients, IV injection is recommended while SC injection is suggested for CAPD and ND patients.
Cancer Patients on Chemotherapy: Epiao treatment is not recommended for patients with baseline serum endogenous erythropoietin level >200 MIU/mL, for patients with lower baseline serum endogenous erythropoietin level respond more vigorously to Epiao than patients with higher erythropoietin levels. The recommended starting dose is 150 iu/kg SC, 3 times weekly for 4-8 weeks. If the response is not satisfactory in terms of reducing transfusion requirements or increasing hematocrit after 8 weeks of therapy, the dose of Epiao can be increased up to 200 iu/kg 3 times weekly. If the hematocrit exceeds 40%, the dose of Epiao should be withheld until the hematocrit falls to 36%. The dose of Epiao should be reduced by 25% when treatment is resumed and titrated to maintain the desired hematocrit. The dose of Epiao should be withheld as hematocrit exceeds 40% or its increase exceeds 4% in any 2-week period.
Administration: Using aseptic techniques, attach a sterile needle to a sterile syringe, and withdraw into the syringe an appropriate volume of solution as an IV or SC injection.