Sevelamer carbonate powder taken as an oral suspension provides serum phosphorus control in CKD patients comparable to that of sevelamer hydrochloride tablets, British researchers reported.
Sevelamer carbonate powder “should provide a welcomed new option” for treating hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients, the investigators concluded.
Stanley Fan, MD, of the Royal London Hospital in London, and collaborators compared the two formulations in a study of 31 hemodialysis patients randomly assigned to receive either sevelamer carbonate powder in an aqueous suspension or sevelamer hydrochloride tablets three times daily for four weeks followed by a crossover to the other treatment for another four weeks. Twenty-four patients completed the study.
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The mean serum phosphorus was 1.6 mmol/L during sevelamer carbonate treatment and 1.7 mmol/L during sevelamer hydrochloride treatment, a nonsignificant difference between the treatments, according to findings published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (2009; published online ahead of print). Both medications were well tolerated.
“Sevelamer carbonate for oral suspension may be particularly beneficial for several patient populations,” the authors wrote. “Elderly and other patients who have difficulty taking solid dosage forms of medications may find a suspension easier to swallow. The patients who are overwhelmed by the number of pills they must take each day may find an oral suspension preferable.”
The availability of an oral suspension provides patients with a dosage option that could result in increased compliance with therapy that could improve patient outcomes, the researchers stated.
