Erythropoietin in the critically ill – is it more than just blood?
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Correspondence: Howard L Corwin Howard.L.Corwin@hitchcock.org
Professor of Medicine and Anesthesiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Section Chief, Critical Care Medicine, Medical Director, Intensive Care Unit, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
Critical Care 2004, 8:325-326 doi:10.1186/cc2949
See related review article, http://ccforum.com/content/8/5/337
Published: 6 September 2004Abstract
Erythropoietin (EPO) has been in clinical use for the treatment of anemia for over 15 years. Recently it has been demonstrated that EPO has actions other than stimulating the bone marrow. It has been suggested that due to its tissue protecting effect, EPO may be effective in improving outcome in the critically ill.