The erythropoietin response to the anemia of thermal injury.

Erythropoietin excretion was persistently increased following major thermal injury in 4 of 5 patients. A good correlation was found between erythropoietin excretion and red cell mass but not between erythropoietin excretion and hematocrit. In spite of the increased erythropoietin, erythropoiesis in these thermally injured patients was inadequate to compensate for erythrocyte deficits as judged by bone marrow morphology, reticulocyte counts, and transfusion requirements.