Darbepoetin-α effective in anemia correction, improving cardiovascular performance than epoetin-α

A recent study suggests that darbepoetin-α is effective in correcting anemia and improving cardiovascular performance in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients compared to epoetin-α. This study was published in the journal, Cardiorenal Medicine.

This single-centre, retrospective, observational study included 100 stage IV CKD patients. They were given erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) i.e. 20 μg darbepoetin-α weekly and 2,000 IU epoetin-α thrice weekly in a 1:300 conversion ratio. This study evaluated the cardiovascular outcomes in the two groups and every 3 months, haemoglobin (Hb), C-reactive protein, hematocrit, basal echocardiograms and pro-brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were monitored.

At the end of the study, it was observed that darbepoetin-α was significantly more effective than epoetin-α in increasing Hb levels after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Compared to 70% of patients treated with epoetin-α, the optimal Hb target level was reached after one year of treatment with darbepoetin-α. Cardiovascular performance after darbepoetin-α treatment significantly improved at the 6- and 12-month follow-ups.

Based on the above results, it can be concluded that darbepoetin-α may appear to be effective in correcting anemia and improving cardiovascular performance in CKD patients compared to epoetin-α.