Perioperative anemia management in colorectal cancer patients: A pragmatic approach

Table 4 Effects of perioperative administration of erythropoietin and iron on transfusion requirements in patients undergoing elective colorectal cancer resection

Study	+ESA		Placebo		Iron	ESA
	n	ABT, n (%)	n	ABT, n (%)	(route, type, dose, d)	(type, total dose, route, day)
Braga et al[75]	10	1 (10)1	10	5 (50)	iv iron gluconate, 125 mg/d, 4 d	Epoetin alfa,
						500 IU/kg, SC
						(from day -12 to day +8)
Kettelhack et al[76]	48	16 (33)	54	15 (28)	Oral, NS, 5-10 d preOP	Epoetin beta,
					iv, NS, 40 mg, 1 d postOP	3000-4500 IU/kg, SC
						(from day -10 to day +4)
Qvist et al[77]	38	13 (34)2	43	23 (53)	Oral, NS,	Epoetin alfa,
					200 mg/d, 4 d	1350 IU/kg, SC
						(from day -4 to day +7)
Kosmadakis et al[78]	31	9 (29)1	32	19 (59)	iv iron sucrose,	Epoetin alfa,
					100 mg/d, 14 d	4200 IU/kg, SC
						(from day -7 to day +7)
Christodoulakis et al[79]	69 (a)	34 (49)	68	35 (51)	Oral, NS,	Epoetin alfa,
	67 (b)	27 (40)2			200 mg/d, 10 d	1800 IU/kg, SC (a)
						3600 IU/kg, SC (b)
						(from day -10 to day +1)
Norager et al[80]	75	10 (13)	76	9 (12)	Oral, NS,	Darbepoetin alfa,
					200 mg/d, 7d	750-1500 g, SC
						(from day -10 to day +25)
Overall	338	110 (33)	283	106 (37)	OR = 0.89 (95%CI: 0.58-1.12; P = 0.206)

¹Reduction in both percentage of transfused patients and number of transfused units;

²Reduction in the number of transfused units only. ABT: Allogeneic blood transfusion; ESA: Erythropoiesis stimulating agent; NS: Not stated; preOP: Preoperative; postOP: Postoperative; SC: Subcutaneous.