Does a transfusion increase treatment time?

[Vannh9]

Hi Guys,

I finally had 2 units of blood on Thursday and I can function for the 1st time in weeks. For some reason my Doctor is not crazy about procrit....am still trying to find out why.

I have been on reduced RIBA (600mg) for 2 weeks. I am Victrelis and was UND at 8 weeks (same day they did riba reduction). I have 2 questions....

Does having a transfusion increase treatment duration?

Does having a transfusion impact SVR.??

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks-

Vann

[HectorSF]

Sound like you have a very good doc. It may be the center's policy to first use transfusion before epo or you may have health factors that can be contraindicated for treatment with Procrit. Or it may be his preference from years of experience. You should ask your doc so you understand his reasoning.

Don't worry. Ribavirin reduction won't affect SVR rates.

Hopefully the dose reduction and occasional transfusion or Procrit will manage that condition during treatment.

Happy New Year!
Hector

[Vannh9]

Hector - thanks for the reply....and the answer I was hoping for:-) Happy New year!

spectda HGB was at 8.8....not horribly low, but I couldn't work. I had to have some relief. My Doctor is Director of Hepatolgy at Duke....travels worldwide lecturing on Hep c and treatment....I see a couple of Docs, but he is the one that made this call....I asked for procrit and he did confirm that in trials it was used, but when I asked for procrit he said he would rather do transfusion....I will try and learn more next week. Blood pressure was very low 90/55 and heart rate 110.

eureka-thank you so much for the feedback. I do hope to understand what their plan for maintaining HGB....I think everyone I know that is on VIC is on procrit and I told him that....but I have to tell you the transfusion certainly made me feel better:-)

Happy New year ALL!

[eureka254]

So glad that you're feeling better... nothing like a little blood in your veins to make you feel alive ;).  

Certainly each physician has their own bias, but it would be important to have a thorough discussion with your doc about why he is opposed to procrit if that is the case.  Being that you still have a bit to go before treatment ends, it's good that the transfusion made you feel better, but discuss with your doctor if the intention is to make this a regular thing if your hgb doesn't hold... usually transfusion is a short-lived and temporary solution.  As spectda says, there's good evidence that Procrit can help those on Vic.

Transfusion should not increase your treatment duration, but it's important to keep in mind that you surely don't want to have to shorten your tx later on because of anemia, which has happened to people... again, talk to your doc about options to maintain your hgb.  In some ways, transfusion may actually increase your chances of SVR, because without it, you would not be able to continue Riba at current dose and still function ;).

Enjoy the New Year holiday with that new transfused energy! Take care. ~eureka

[spectda]

How low did your HGB go when you had a transfusion? Procrit and any rescue drug should be taken seriously, but I find it difficult to understand that a doctor who is using victrelis for treatment is unwilling to use it rather then risk HGB going so low that it requires transfusion. Procrit was used extensively in the victrelis trials.

Is your doctor a hepatologist with a lot of experience treating HCV and a lot of knowledge of the new drugs?

Great news on your und at 8 weeks, congratulations and I am happy to hear you are feeling better.

[JasmineT]

Glad you are feeling better vann.

[HectorSF]

"Does having a transfusion increase treatment duration?"
No.

"Does having a transfusion impact SVR.??"
No.

Hector