Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31297547›Full record

SynthesisIntensive care medicine2019

Safety and efficacy of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Edward Litton, Peter Latham, Julia Inman, Jingjing Luo, Peter Allan

Abstract readMulticenter StudySystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Intensive care medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.6field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for preventing acute kidney injury.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Observational
  7. Management of anaemia in critically ill adults.Singapore medical journal · 2025
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Managing preoperative anemia: EPO is needed.Blood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Iron and erythropoietin to heal and recover after intensive care (ITHRIVE): A pilot randomised clinical trial.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2023
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Observational
  16. Patient blood management in the ICU: A narrative review of the literature.European journal of anaesthesiology and intensive care · 2022
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Edward LittonIntensive Care Unit, St John of God Hospital Subiaco, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia. edward.litton@health.wa.gov.au.ORCID 0000-0002-5125-6829
Peter LathamIntensive Care Unit, Noosa Hospital, Sunshine Coast, Noosaville, QLD, 4566, USA.
Julia InmanFiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia.
Jingjing LuoDepartment of Anaesthesia, Rockingham General Hospital, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia.
Peter AllanIntensive Care Unit, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia.
Fiona Stanley Hospital · AURockingham General HospitalSt John of God Subiaco Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeSevere 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.

methodsThe search strategy was conducted according to a predetermined protocol and included OVID MEDLINE, OVID EMBASE and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception until 20 May 2019. Publications were eligible for inclusion if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including adult patients admitted to an ICU, that identified and reported a group receiving ESA therapy compared to a group not receiving ESA therapy and reported mortality. There were no language restrictions.

resultsThe systematic review included 21 studies with 5452 participants. In-hospital mortality, reported in 16 studies of which only one was at low risk of bias, was lower in the ESA group (276 of 2187 patients, 12.6%) than the comparator group (339 out of 2204 patients, 15.4%), [relative risk (RR) 0.82, 95% CI 0.71-0.94, P = 0.006, I

conclusionsIn heterogenous populations of critically ill adults, evidence from RCTs of mainly low or unclear quality, suggests that ESA therapy may decrease mortality.

Indexed as

Critical IllnessHematinicsHumansIntensive Care UnitsPatient SafetyHematinicsCritical careErythropoiesis-stimulating agentsImmunomodulation

Identifiers

PMID31297547
OpenAlexW2959624934

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.