Australian haemodialysis patients on intravenous epoetin alfa or intravenous darbepoetin alfa: How do they compare?

SUMMARY: Aim: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Australian haemodialysis patients receiving intravenous epoetin alfa are comparable to those receiving darbepoetin alfa with respect to a range of demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: Data on haemodialysis patients were extracted from the Renal Anaemia Management database for the period from July 2003 to March 2004. Results: Patients on haemodialysis were more likely to receive epoetin alfa than to receive darbepoetin alfa (n = 1898 vs n = 603, respectively). Patients receiving epoetin alfa were marginally older than patients receiving darbepoetin alfa (61 ± 15 vs 59 ± 15, mean ± SD; P