Abstract
Objectives: Critically ill patients often develop anaemia which can be related to a number of factors. However, the exact causes of anaemia in many patients remain unexplained. We hypothesized that the relationship between erythropoietin (EPO) and haematocrit may be altered in critically ill patients. Design: Serum concentrations of EPO were serially determined by the ELISA method in 36 critically ill, non-hypoxaemic patients who stayed more than 7 days in the Intensive Care Unit, including 22 patients with sepsis and 14 without. Eighteen ambulatory patients with iron-deficiency anaemia served as a control group. Setting: Two University Hospital Intensive Care Departments. Results: A significant inverse correlation between serum EPO and haematocrit levels was found in the control patients (r = −0.81, p < 0.001), but not in the critically ill patients (r = −0.09, NS), except in a subgroup of non-septic patients without renal failure (r = −0.61, p < 0.01). Conclusions: EPO levels can be inappropriately low in critically ill patients, so that EPO deficiency may contribute to the development of anaemia in these patients. This phenomenon is observed not only in the presence of acute renal failure, but also in the presence of sepsis.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 4 March 1996 Accepted: 7 November 1996
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rogiers, P., Zhang, H., Leeman, M. et al. Erythropoietin response is blunted in critically ill patients. Intensive Care Med 23, 159–162 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001340050310
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001340050310