Abstract
Desferrioxamine (DF) has recently proven to be extremely efficacious in inducing iron excretion when administered as an IV or SC infusion. To determine appropriate IV drug doses for thalassemic children of different ages, we performed 17 dose-response studies on patients from 5 to 26 years old. Each child received 4 one-week courses of IV DF at doses of 20, 40, 60 and 80mg/kg. Three patients received SC DF by portable infusion pump at 20 mg/kg over 8 hours for one week and 16 hours another week. At 20 mg/kg, drug efficiency (urinary Iron excretion/theoretical maximum excretion) was 55% in the youngest group but fell rapidly as the dose was increased. In contrast, drug efficiency was 86% in patients over 11 years and dropped off slowly to 62% at 80 mg/kg. At the same dose, SC DF given over 8 hours was shown to be almost as effective as 16 hours SC and 24 hours IV DF, permitting over-night SC administration. Thus, drug dose and route of administration should be adjusted according to age and requirements.
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Markenson, A., Graziano, J., Chang, H. et al. CONTINUOUS IV AND SC DESFERRIOXAMINE THERAPY IN β-THALASSEMIA. Pediatr Res 11, 476 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00635
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00635