Randomised controlled double blind study of role of recombinant erythropoietin in the prevention of chronic lung disease

Aim-To evaluate the role of recombinant human erythropoietin (R-HuEpo) in reducing iron infusion, which may exacerbate free radical damage, leading to chronic lung disease. Methods-A multicentre, randomised, placebo controlled, double blind study was carried out in four neonatal intensive care units in Yorkshire. Infants were randomly allocated and received either R-HuEpo (480 U/kg/wk) or placebo by twice weekly subcutaneous injection. The primary outcome measure was the number of days on respiratory support and a secondary outcome the number of blood transfusions required. Results-Forty two very low birthweight (VLBW) infants were randomly allocated. There was little difference in the need for respiratory support one month after randomisation, but subsequently there was a trend towards a reduction in the proportion requiring respiratory support in the R-HuEpo group (difference at three months -0.50, 95% confidence interval -1.00, 0.17). During stay in hospital, the median number of blood transfusions was lower for infants in the R-HuEpo group (difference in medians -2, 95% CI -4, 0). The study was stopped early because of failure to recruit babies at the expected rate. Conclusions-R-HuEpo seems to reduce the number of days in oxygen for ill VLBW infants. These data could be used to construct a larger multicentre study to evaluate this effect further.