ribavirin hemolytic anemia

i have to take decision whether to start ribavirin therapy or not,as one of its sidefect is HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA or i should first make her hemoglobin level correct then start ribavirin and interferon therpy. plz reply as soon as possible as i have to start her treatment soon.

Unfortunately, ribavirin can cause hemolytic anemia; his is due to the premature destruction of red blood cells. The choices are either dose reduction of ribavirin, or intervention with Procrit (or other Epo formulas).

Hemolytic anemia is to a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can make enough new ones to replace them. Ribavirin can cause hemolytic anemia. The likelihood of anemia increases with higher doses of ribavirin. Symptoms The most common symptoms of anemia include shortness of breath, fatigue, pale skin, chills, rapid heart rate, depression, and reduced quality of life.

The most significant side effect of ribavirin is hemolytic anemia. Hemolytic anemia is a type of anemia due to destruction of red blood cells. While most patients will be able to continue treatment despite this hemolytic anemia, about 10% of the patients may need to reduce the ribavirin dose to ensure that the anemia does not become more severe. Other side effects with ribavirin include cough, and some shortness of breath.

1. Ribavirin causes a dosage-dependent, hemolytic anemia, where red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can make enough new ones to replace them. 2. Interferon can exacerbate anemia by suppressing the bone marrow's production of new red blood cells. Anemia is one of the most clinically significant side effects of Hepatitis C therapy.

If you don’t know already, HCV treatment (the ribavirin component most importantly) can cause sever *hemolytic* anemia in a percentage of patients; I’m not sure you would be allowed to begin Tx until this is resolved. However, it’s also important to understand that iron is essential for the transport of oxygen, and is sometimes necessary; if you listen to some people on this forum, they will flatly tell you that iron + HCV is bad; not necessarily so.

this takes roughly 90-100 days in healthy individuals, perhaps more quickly in those with hemolytic anemia.

i agree with you completely. I frankly think that it can be discontinued--speak to the transplant team about this. you make a good point about the glycosylated hemoglobin level.

The whole iron thing is certainly a confusing issue. There are some old posts that go into this and most of them say to stay away from iron. However, there are times when iron is necessary -- it depends on what the patient's situation is. It's been my understanding that iron won't help the hemolytic anemia caused by the Ribavirin....but if you're prescribed Procrit and you don't have enough iron stores, the Procrit won't work.

The kind of anemia from treatment drugs like ribavirin is hemolytic anemia which means red blood cells are destroyed and you have less of them to carry oxygen to your various tissues and organs. Low iron anemia is when you don't have enough iron in your system to carry adequate oxygen. Iron is what oxygen binds with in the blood, that's why it's red. With hemolytic anemia no amount of iron will help since the problem is not the iron but the lack of red blood cells.

The anemia associated with HCV therapy is ‘hemolytic’ anemia, and isn’t responsive to vitamins. The drug ribavirin causes premature red cell destruction; often faster than it can be replaced by bone marrow. When this occurs, Procrit (epo, epogen. Epoetin alpha) can be introduced, or dose reduction of ribavirin is initiated. The former is generally preferred, as it keeps the patient on full dose riba, and offers a better chance of successful HCV therapy outcome.

About 50% of people treating with boceprevir develop hemolytic anemia compared to about 28% of people who are on ribavirin and interferon alone. Hemolytic Anemia (red blood cell destruction which reduces the hemoglobin in your blood is the main side effect from boceprevir. This is not the same as iron poor blood anemia. When your hemoglobin is low your body doesn't get enough oxygen and it can cause a person to feel very week and sometimes disoriented.

Remind your doctor that Ribavirin causes HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA, and NOT iron deficiency anemia. So iron doesn't work....and iron can make the virus multiply.

Neupogen stimulates white blood cell production and Procrit or Epogen boosts red blood cells = increased hemoglobin in hemolytic anemia which is the anemia induced by ribavirin, primarily. Ribavirin prematurely destroys RBCs and that's why we can become anemic. Neupogen won't help that problem but Procrit or Epogen will.

The anemia associated with ribavirin most often occurs as a dose-dependent hemolytic anemia, typically developing within the first 4 weeks of therapy. With use of higher doses of ribavirin (1000-1200 mg/d), hemoglobin levels frequently decline by 2-3 g/dL, as seen in this case. In addition to causing hemolysis, ribavirin can also down-regulate the number of erythropoietin receptors.

The anemia that HCV patients get from treatment (hemolytic anemia) is different than other forms of anemia. Anemia due to iron deficiencies in the blood prevent red blood cells from forming properly. With hemolytic anemia, generally sufficient red cells are formed but they ‘die off’ more rapidly, depleting the blood from a different perspective. Yes, if drugs like Procrit are required to boost red cell production sufficient iron stores are necessary.

My understanding is that the medication Ribavirin can cause hemolytic anemia in some people, but not all. You may not necessarily have worsening anemia from treatment, but if you do, there are "helper" drugs. My husband never suffered from anemia so can't help with the pre-existing anemia question, but being on treatment did make him very anemic and the Procrit has helped him a great deal.

Since there are no plasma tests available that I know of, the only indication that your ribavirin dose is adequate is the onset of hemolytic anemia caused primarily by ribavirin. Therefore, though anemia in unpleasant, I would be more comfortable with it insofar as treatment response in concerned. It's a bit early for you to see yet but I would expect to see a decreased Hb and red blood count in a week or so. That's my take on it.

Hi Karen, Anemia is caused by the oral component ribavirin. It is hemolytic anemia; in other words, red blood cells which are normally destroyed by our body every 100 days or so now die off sooner; more quickly than many of our systems can replace. It is managed with either the drug Procrit, or by dose reduction of ribavirin. If these measures don’t work, transfusion is possible, along with treatment cessation. The last two methods aren’t common, but are required as last ditch measures.

fatigue, dry skin and rash, hair loss, muscle aches, aching joints, hemolytic anemia, insomnia, mouth sores, weight loss, appetite loss, irritability, anxiety, dehydration and I'm sure there are others that escape me at the moment. My experience (48 weeks of treatment) was that side effects varied, some would come and go, others were with me throughout. The worst for me was the hemolytic anemia. I had to have a transfusion at week 6 and took the rescue drug, Procrit, for 40 weeks.

Ribavirin hemolytic anemia

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