Question

Which symptom, if assessed after the administration of epoetin alfa (Epogen), would be cause for alarm?

Answer 1

Answer:

Many sympthons can happen with the use of Epogen. All of them could be cause of alarm (they are listed below).

Explanation:

     Epogen is a human erythropoietin stimulating agent used to treat anemia with chronic kidney disease patients or cancer patients (receiving chemotherapy that will last for at least two months after starting this medication).

   The medication stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells or hemoglobin. If hemoglobin levels get high or rise too fast this can cause serious health damage. These risks may also occur even if hemoglobin levels do not increase greatly and the person is using Epogen. It is also used in anemia caused by zidovudine (AZT) use.

   If you decide to take Epogen, your doctor should prescribe the lowest dose of Epogen that is required to reduce your chances of red blood cell transfusions.  There are several risks of using Epogen, like:

• may have severe heart problems such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure and may die sooner if you are treated with Epogen to reach a normal or near normal hemoglobin level.

• You can form blood clots at any time while taking Epogen. Clots can form in the blood vessels (veins), especially in your leg (deep vein thrombosis or DVT). These blood clots can reach the lungs and block the circulation of blood in this organ (pulmonary embolism).

In case of any sympthons, you should be alarm:

• Chest pain.
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
• Leg pain, with or without swelling.
• Arm or leg that becomes cold or pale.
• Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or problems understanding what others say.
• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially when it happens on only one side of the body.
• Sudden difficulty seeing.
• Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance.
• Loss of consciousness (fainting).
• Vascular access for hemodialysis that stops working.