Does the use of erythropoietin in hemodialysis patients increase dialysis graft thrombosis rates?
Erythropoietin (EPO) is highly efficacious in the treatment of the anemia of chronic renal failure. Evidence for a reported serious side effect, increased dialysis graft thrombosis, is equivocal. Sixty-four hemodialysis patients utilizing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts were treated with EPO. The patients served as their own historical controls. There were 1.188 thrombectomies and 0.222 mechanical problems per 1,000 patient-days prior to the initiation of EPO treatment. With EPO, the values were 0.656 and 0.222, respectively. Patients were separated into low-, medium-, and high-dose EPO groups and analyzed within groups for the effect of EPO and between groups for a dose-dependent response. According to an analysis of variance procedure, there was no statistically significant differences between the groups, which suggests that EPO is not thrombogenic to dialysis grafts.
Standage
B A
BA
Department of Surgery, Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center, Portland, OR.
Schuman
E S
ES
Ackerman
D
D
Gross
G F
GF
Ragsdale
J W
JW
D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count / Q000187:drug effects; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced*
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene