What is EPO (erythropoietin)?

What is EPO (erythropoietin)?

  • Type of drug: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA). Examples include:
    • Darbepoetin alfa – an injection
    • Roxadustat – a tablet. It is a hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI)
  • Use: anaemia secondary to CKD (and other blood diseases)
  • Dose:
    • Darbepoetin alfa – typical dose 30 mcg once a week
    • Roxadustat – typical dose 100 mg 3x a week
  • Side-effects: arthralgia; embolism and thrombosis; hypertension; stroke; fistulas (AVFs) and grafts (AVGs) for haemodialysis may clot
  • Monitor: haemoglobin (Hb); BP.
But. What is erythropoietin really?

EPO is a naturally occurring glycoprotein made mainly by the kidneys, in response to hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the cells); it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bone marrow.

So. What is an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA)?

ESAs are medications (synthetic EPO-like substances) which stimulate the bone marrow to make red blood cells.

Other resources

CKD drug side-effects
CKD patient information (CKD Explained’s 30+ core articles about CKD)
Erythropoietin (UHCW patient information)
Darbepoetin alfa (BNF)
Roxadustat (BNF)
Review article: erythropoietin stimulating agents (ESAs) (Schoener, 2023)
Review article: darbepoetin alfa (Carerra, 2009)
Review article: roxadustat (Tang, 2021)

 

 

 

Last Reviewed on 5 May 2024

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