Erythropoietin ameliorates early ischemia-reperfusion injury following the Pringle maneuver

AIM: To investigate the protective effect of erythropoietin (Epo) against ischemia-reperfusion injury (IR/I) following the Pringle maneuver (PM), in comparison with conventional steroid administration in a prospective randomized trial. METHODS: Patients were randomized by age, sex, diagnosis, and surgical method, and assigned to three groups: (1) A steroid group (STRD, n = 9) who received 100 mg of hydrocortisone before PM, and on postoperative days 1, 2 and 3, followed by tapering until postoperative day 7; (2) An EPO1 group (n = 10) who received 30 000 U of Epo before the PM and at the end of surgery; and (3) An EPO2 group (n = 8) who received 60 000 U of Epo before the PM. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), lactate, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured before and just after (Day 0) surgery, and on postoperative days 1, 3, 7 and 14. RESULTS: There were no increases in Hb and Ht in the EPO1 and EPO2 groups. AST was significantly lower in EPO1 than in STRD on Day 0 (P = 0.041), and lower in EPO1 than in STRD and EPO2 on Day 1 (P = 0.018). ALT was significantly lower in EPO1 than in STRD and EPO2 on Day 0 (P = 0.020) and Day 1 (P = 0.004). There were no significant inter-group differences in the levels of LDH and lactate. IL-6 was significantly lower in EPO1 than in STRD and EPO2 on Day 0 (P = 0.0036) and Day 1 (P = 0.0451). TNF-α was significantly lower in EPO1 than in STRD and EPO2 on Day 0 (P = 0.0006) and Day 1 (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, hospitalization was significantly shorter in EPO1 and EPO2 than in STRD. CONCLUSION: Epo has greater potential than steroids to ameliorate IR/I after the PM. Epo at a dose of 30 000 U, administered before PM and just after surgery, yields better results.