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Do patients with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and anemia benefit from erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs)? To address this question, industry-supported investigators randomized 4038 patients (median age, 68; 58% women) with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease (glomerular filtration rate, 20–60 mL/minute/1.73 m2), and hemoglobin level ≤11.0 g/dL to the ESA darbepoetin α (Aranesp; to achieve a hemoglobin level of approximately 13 g/dL) or to placebo. Patients in the placebo arm received “rescue” darbepoetin α when their hemoglobin levels dropped below 9 g/dL.
After an average follow-up of 29 months, median hemoglobin levels were significantly higher with darbepoetin α (12.5 g/dL) than with placebo (10.6 g/dL). Correspondin…