• Laura V Tsu and William E Dager.
• Davis Medical Center, University of California, Sacramento, CA, USA.
• Ann Pharmacother. 2011 Oct 1;45(10):1185-92.

BackgroundWhile not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), except in patients undergoing percutaneous interventions, the direct thrombin inhibitor bivalirudin is a treatment option that is gaining use. An initial dose of bivalirudin 0.15-0.2 mg/kg/h, adjusted to an activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) of 1.5-2.5 times the baseline value, has been suggested. Initial dosing in patients with renal dysfunction, including those on hemodialysis, is unclear.ObjectiveTo evaluate initial bivalirudin dosing requirements in patients with and without renal dysfunction, including patients on different forms of dialysis.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 135 patients treated with bivalirudin for HIT between June 2004 and October 2009 was conducted at a tertiary care medical center. The patients were divided into groups, based on renal function. Patients receiving dialysis were divided into 3 subgroups based on the mode of hemodialysis: intermittent hemodialysis (IHD, n = 24), sustained low-efficiency daily diafiltration (SLEDD, n = 12), or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT, n = 5). Patients not receiving dialysis were separated into 3 subgroups based on calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl): CrCl >60 mL/min (n = 52), CrCl 30-60 mL/min (n = 26), and CrCl <30 mL/min (n = 16).ResultsCompared with patients with normal renal function (CrCl >60 mL/min), patients with differing degrees of renal dysfunction (CrCl 30-60 and <30 mL/min) required lower doses of bivalirudin to achieve aPTT goal (0.13 vs 0.08 vs 0.05 mg/kg/h, respectively; p < 0.001). Patients on dialysis (IHD, SLEDD, CRRT) also required dose reductions (0.07, 0.09, and 0.07 mg/kg/h) compared with patients with normal renal function, but higher dosing requirements than patients not receiving dialysis with CrCl <30 mL/min.ConclusionsPatients with renal dysfunction require a reduced dose of bivalirudin to reach a therapeutic aPTT goal. Slightly higher doses may be observed in patients receiving hemodialysis.

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