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Preoperative erythropoietin may reduce allogenic blood transfusion in hip, knee arthroplasty
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Researchers performed a systematic review of randomized clinical trials and found using preoperative erythropoietin-stimulating agents increased hemoglobin levels in patients undergoing elective hip and knee arthroplasty.
“Erythropoietin improves postoperative hemoglobin levels and decreases the need for allogeneic blood transfusion in patients undergoing hip or knee surgery,” Khalid Alsaleh, MD, and colleagues wrote in the study.
Alsaleh and colleagues evaluated 26 trials with 3,560 participants who underwent unilateral, bilateral, primary or revision hip or knee arthroplasty, according to the abstract. Patients were given erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) preoperatively and compared with patients undergoing similar surgeries who received preoperative autologous blood donation, intravenous iron or placebo.
Receiving preoperative ESAs increased hemoglobin levels in that patient group. Between the ESA group and the control groups, the mean hemoglobin level was 7.16 g/L. There was no significant difference between groups for the risk of thromboembolism, according to the abstract.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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