Erythropoietin‐induced, antibody‐mediated pure red cell aplasia*

Abstract

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare haematological condition that is characterized by severe aregenerative anaemia due to an almost complete cessation of red blood cell production. While antibody-mediated PRCA was extremely rare before 1998, the incidence of this disorder increased sharply after 1998 in patients receiving subcutaneous epoetin alfa produced by Ortho-Biotech and marketed outside the USA. The diagnosis of antibody-mediated PRCA relies mostly on the results of bone marrow biopsy or aspirate, which shows an absence of erythroid precursors and/or red cell maturation arrest while counts of white cell and platelet precursors are normal, and on the identification of circulating anti-erythropoietin antibodies. Retrospective analysis of PRCA cases has shown that immunosuppressive therapy can induce a disappearance of anti-erythropoietin antibodies in most patients. Eur J Clin Invest 2005; 35 (Suppl. 3): 95-99.