[Prophylaxis of anemia of prematurity with erythropoietin. Case control study].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of recombinant human erythropoietin (rH-EPO) in the prophylactic treatment of anemia of prematurity.


METHODS
We performed a non-randomised, retrospective case control study of 108 premature babies with birth weights of less than 1500 grams and gestational age of less than 34 weeks. Infants with hemolytic or hemorrhagic disease and those who died in the first days of life were excluded. Fifty-four patients were treated with rH-EPO (250 U/kg subcutaneously, 3 times a week) for 6 weeks. A ferrous sulfate supplement was also administered orally (4-6 mg/kg/day) with a multivitamin complex.


RESULTS
There were no differences between groups in gestational age, birth weight, ferritin levels, hematocrit and hemoglobin on admission, amount of blood sampled and days with ventilatory support. The number of transfusions per patient were 1.46 +/- 1.38 in control group versus 0.69 +/- 1.19 in rH-EPO-treated infants (p < 0.002). Sixty-three percent of infants in the treated group did not require blood transfusions compared with only 29.7% in the nontreated group (p < 0.001). The lowest mean hemoglobin was 8.72 +/- 2.62 gr/dl in the control group versus 9.70 +/- 2.08 gr/dl in the rH-EPO group.


CONCLUSIONS
Prophylactic treatment with rH-EPO was effective in reducing the number of transfusions, mainly in stable newborn infants with a birth weight greater than 1000 grams.
de la Torre Aguilar
M
M
Departamento de Pediatría. Unidad de Neonatología. Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía.
Gascón Jiménez
F J
FJ
Zapatero Martínez
M
M
Guzmán Cabañas
J
J
Huertas Muñoz
D
D
Ruiz González
D
D
Jaraba Caballero
P
P
D000751:Anemia, Neonatal / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin