MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The use of erythropoietin (EPO) does not appear to reduce the infarct size in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) also treated with a thrombolytic, according to research published in the Oct. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Azan S. Binbrek, M.D., of the Rashid Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and colleagues analyzed data from 236 patients admitted to the hospital with STEMI. Patients were randomized to receive standard care -- including tenecteplase -- or standard care plus 30,000 IU of EPO. The primary end point was infarct size, estimated enzymatically.

The researchers found that infarct size and infarct size index were nearly identical in both groups, as well as subgroups based on diabetes status, age, site of infarction, and history of myocardial infarction.

"The results of this study demonstrate that the administration of EPO in quantities comparable to those that have been reported to provide tissue protection in the hearts of experimental animals did not change the extent of infarction in patients with STEMIs treated with the early administration of a thrombolytic drug. The echocardiographic results indicated that no functional differences were present between the 2 groups and were concordant with the lack of differences in enzymatic estimates of infarct size index," the authors write.

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