Why treat anemia in the preoperative period of joint replacement surgery with erythropoietin? IMPACT consults. Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Cleveland Clinic Perioperative Medicine Summit.

Treatment of anemia in the perioperative period of major orthopedic surgery decreases the need for blood transfusion and improves perioperative outcomes. Use of epoetin alfa in this setting is FDA-approved and provides significant benefit to qualified and carefully chosen patients.