title: Prevention of acute kidney injury by erythropoietin in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Depending on the specific definition, acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in 7-40% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Even small changes in serum creatinine (SCr) levels are associated with increased mortality after cardiac surgery. However, there are no current methods for preventing AKI after cardiac surgery. Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to elicit tissue-protective effects in various experimental models. In this pilot trial, we evaluated the effectiveness of EPO in the prevention of AKI after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
  
  
  METHODS
  71 patients scheduled for elective CABG randomly received either 300 U/kg of EPO or saline intravenously before surgery. AKI was defined as a 50% increase in SCr levels over baseline within the first 5 postoperative days. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from the Cockcroft-Gault equation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 71 patients, 13 developed postoperative AKI: 3 of the 36 patients in the EPO group (8%) and 10 of the 35 patients in the placebo group (29%; p = 0.035). The increase in postoperative SCr concentration and the decline in postoperative eGFR were significantly lower in the EPO group than in the placebo group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our small, pilot trial, prophylactic administration of EPO prevents AKI and improves postoperative renal function. These data are preliminary and require confirmation in a larger clinical trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Kidney Research Institute, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Rim
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Taewoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Ho Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Dong-Wan
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Cheong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Kay-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sunghee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jin-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ki Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Na
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D004921:Erythropoietin