Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2019
Review Multicenter StudySafety and efficacy of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Severe immune dysregulation is common in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and is associated with adverse outcomes. Erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) have immune-modulating and anti-apoptotic effects. However, their safety and efficacy in critically ill patients remain uncertain. We evaluated whether ESAs, administered to critically unwell adult patients admitted to the ICU, reduced mortality at hospital discharge. ⋯ In heterogenous populations of critically ill adults, evidence from RCTs of mainly low or unclear quality, suggests that ESA therapy may decrease mortality.