Severe anemia after gastrointestinal hemorrhage in a Jehovah's Witness: New treatment strategies

Objective. Management of severe anemia in a critically ill Jehovah's Witness is challenging. In the past, conservative therapy was the only option available to the practitioner. Recently, new interventional treatment strategies have become available, including human and bovine hemoglobin substitutes and high-dose recombinant human erythropoietin. Design: Case report. Setting. Intensive care unit in a quaternary care center. Patient. A patient with severe, life-threatening anemia caused by gastrointestinal hemorrhage who refused all blood products on religious grounds. Intervention. Bovine hemoglobin substitute and high-dose recombinant human erythropoietin. Case Study., A 50-yr-old Jehovah's Witness presented with massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage; initial hemoglobin was 3.5 g/dL. Endoscopy revealed a prepyloric ulcer, and hemorrhage control was achieved by epinephrine injections into the peri-ulcer mucosa. Despite control of hemorrhage, the patient became hemodynamically unstable. A total of 7 units of a bovine hemoglobin-based oxygen carrying compound (HBOC-201) was administered to enhance the patient's oxygen delivery. High-dose recombinant human erythropoietin was administered daily (500 units/kg). Hemoglobin levels were initially maintained and then slowly increased to a maximum of 7.6 g/dL on day 24 of therapy. Conclusion: This case demonstrates that the concurrent administration of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers and recombinant human erythropoietin in severe, life-threatening anemia (hemoglobin, 3.5 g/dL) was associated with patient survival and a significant increase in hemoglobin to 7.6 g/dL, without the administration of allogeneic blood. Hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers can adequately serve as initial therapy to maintain tissue oxygen delivery while awaiting the maximal effect of recombinant erythropoietin on bone marrow red blood cell production. High-dose recombinant human erythropoietin offers these patients the best chance for normalization of hematocrit and survival in the long term.