O7.15 Anaemia

Anaemia is a relatively uncommon comorbidity of COPD (Schnell 2012, Barnes 2009, Yohannes 2011a, Almagro 2012) either attributable to erythropoietin resistance (Markoulaki 2011) or inflammation (Markoulaki 2011, Rutten 2013, Boutou 2012), which may impair functional performance (Cote 2007a, Krishnan 2006, Boutou 2011) and health status (Krishnan 2006, Boutou 2011), contribute to worse survival (Haja Mydin 2013, Kollert 2013, Martinez-Rivera 2012, Boutou 2013, Cui 2012, Chambellan 2005), and be associated with increased health care utilization costs (Shorr 2008, Halpern 2006). Red cell transfusion appears to be a reasonable strategy for those with severe anaemia (Schonhofer 1998), though there is no evidence of benefit from RCTs.