Erythropoietin therapy tied to hip-fracture risk in patients on dialysis
For patients on a high dose, it appears to be on a par with other well-known risk factors, authors say
There is a dose-dependent association between erythropoietin (EPO) treatment and risk of hip fractures in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a study shows.
EPO, widely used for management of anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD), is known to also promote bone remodelling, the authors note in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
US researchers examined haemodialysis data in more than 747,000 patients using United States Renal Data System datasets, combined with Centres for Medicare and Medicaid services claims data from 1997-2013.
Hip fractures were not frequent, but rates increased from 12.0 per 1000 patient-years in 1997 to 18.9 in 2004 and then decreased to 13.1 in 2013.
