Laboratory trend analyses and proactive adjustments to minimize the need for holding epoetin alfa doses.

Holding doses of epoetin alfa (Epogen) alters the balance between red blood cell production and death rates, and leads to a decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) levels. Although clinical circumstances sometimes require that epoetin alfa doses be held, this can be minimized by monitoring longitudinal trends, predicting the probable future course of Hb, and intervening to proactively adjust epoetin alfa doses before holding is required.