Pharmacokinetics of recombinant human erythropoietin in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

To determine the optimum regimen for giving recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) to patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), the pharmacokinetics of single-dose EPO administered intravenously (120 U/kg), intraperitoneally (50,000 U), and subcutaneously (120 U/kg) was investigated. After intravenous administration serum EPO levels decayed exponentially from a peak of 3959 mU/ml, with a half-life of 8.2 h. 2.3% of the total intravenous dose was lost in the dialysate during the first 24 h. Peak serum EPO levels of 375 mU/ml at 12 h and 176 mU/ml at 18 h were attained following intraperitoneal and subcutaneous administration, respectively. The bioavailability of subcutaneous EPO (21.5%) was seven times greater than that of intraperitoneal EPO (2.9%). These results suggest that subcutaneous EPO represents the most satisfactory route of administration for CAPD patients.