Background: Ribavirin administration for chronic hepatitis C is associated with the development of haemolytic anaemia, which affects treatment efficacy and tolerability. In a pilot study, the exogenous administration of erythropoietin has been shown to be beneficial, reducing the rate of ribavirin dose reduction. How ribavirin administration affects normal erythropoietin production has not been determined.
Aim: To investigate the endogenous erythropoietin response in hepatitis C patients with ribavirin-induced anaemia.
Methods: Serum erythropoietin was measured before and during interferon-ribavirin treatment in 18 HCV-positive subjects. Mathematical analysis and modelling were applied to compare the degree of erythropoietin increase in HCV-positive and in otherwise healthy anaemic patients, and estimate the endogenous excess erythropoietin production in response to ribavirin-induced anaemia.
Results: Erythropoietin concentration increased significantly in response to anaemia caused by ribavirin. The physiological erythropoietin response to the ribavirin-induced anaemia was as adequate in HCV-positive subjects as it is in anaemic subjects without liver disease. The recommended exogenous erythropoietin dose appears three-times greater than the endogenous erythropoietin boost.
Conclusion: Chronic liver damage by HCV does not affect the physiological erythropoietin response to ribavirin-induced anaemia. While the rationale for erythropoietin treatment of ribavirin-induced anaemia is not straightforward, the currently recommended dosing regimen should be reassessed.