Erythropoietin profile in spinal cord injured patients.

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a high incidence of anemia. Intact erythropoietin (EPO) production is essential to the maintenance of erythrocyte mass and prevention and correction of anemia. However, the effect of chronic SCI on EPO production remains unclear. We measured plasma EPO concentration in 83 men with longstanding SCI and a group of normal able-bodied individuals. The SCI patients showed a significant reduction in hematocrit, a high prevalence of anemia, and an increased plasma EPO concentration. Active smokers showed a significantly higher hematocrit and lower EPO concentration than nonsmokers. No significant difference was found in hematocrit or EPO between individuals with paraplegia and those with quadriplegia. A negative correlation was found between EPO and hematocrit in SCI patients lacking significant lung disease. Thus, in the absence of renal insufficiency, EPO response to anemia is qualitatively preserved in SCI patients and is largely independent of the level of injury.