ReviewRespiratory physiology & neurobiology2020
Coping with hypoxemia: Could erythropoietin (EPO) be an adjuvant treatment of COVID-19?
Review in Respiratory physiology & neurobiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Red Blood Cell Distribution Is a Significant Predictor of Severe Illness in Coronavirus Disease 2019.Acta haematologica · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Article
- Altitude and case fatality rate from COVID-19 during the pandemic in Peru, 2020-2022.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2026Article
- Mechanisms Underlying Altitude-Induced and Group 3 Pulmonary Hypertension.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Chemoreflex function in pulmonary diseases - A review.The Journal of physiology · 2025Review
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and COVID-19: The Impact of Hematological Biomarkers on Disease Severity and Outcomes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Redefining chronic mountain sickness: insights from high-altitude research and clinical experience.Medical review (2021) · 2025Review
- Precision nutrition to reset virus-induced human metabolic reprogramming and dysregulation (HMRD) in long-COVID.NPJ science of food · 2024Review
- High altitudes, population density, and poverty: Unraveling the complexities of COVID-19 in Peru during the years 2020-2022.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- A U-shaped protection of altitude against mortality and infection of COVID-19 in Peru: an ecological study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Morphological and functional findings in COVID-19 lung disease as compared to Pneumonia, ARDS, and High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema.Respiratory physiology & neurobiology · 2023Review
- The Oxygen Cascade from Atmosphere to Mitochondria as a Tool to Understand the (Mal)adaptation to Hypoxia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- The effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on ischemic stroke and the possible underlying mechanisms.The International journal of neuroscience · 2023Article
- Article
- COVID-19 Smell Impairment and Crosstalk with Hypoxia Physiology.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Oxygen therapy limiting peripheral oxygen saturation to 89-93% is associated with a better survival prognosis for critically ill COVID-19 patients at high altitudes.Respiratory physiology & neurobiology · 2022Observational
- Effect of altitude on COVID-19 mortality in Ecuador: an ecological study.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Age and genotype dependent erythropoietin protection in COVID-19.World journal of stem cells · 2021Review
- Low serum erythropoietin levels are associated with fatal COVID-19 cases at 4,150 meters above sea level.Respiratory physiology & neurobiology · 2021Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A very recent epidemiological study provides preliminary evidence that living in habitats located at 2500 m above sea level (masl) might protect from the development of severe respiratory symptoms following infection with the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus. This epidemiological finding raises the question of whether physiological mechanisms underlying the acclimatization to high altitude identifies therapeutic targets for the effective treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome pivotal to the reduction of global mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article compares the symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) with those of SARS-CoV-2 infection and explores overlapping patho-physiological mechanisms of the respiratory system including impaired oxygen transport, pulmonary gas exchange and brainstem circuits controlling respiration. In this context, we also discuss the potential impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on oxygen sensing in the carotid body. Finally, since erythropoietin (EPO) is an effective prophylactic treatment for AMS, this article reviews the potential benefits of implementing FDA-approved erythropoietin-based (EPO) drug therapies to counteract a variety of acute respiratory and non-respiratory (e.g. excessive inflammation of vascular beds) symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Registered trials
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.