Palazzuoli 2007

Methods	Study design: RCT Study duration: NS
Participants	Setting: Cardiac division, “Le Scotte” Hospital, University of Siena Country: Italy Stage of CKD: mild to moderate kidney disease (eGFR 30 to 60 mL/min) Number: epoetin beta (28), placebo (28) Mean age ± SD (years): epoetin beta (74 ± 6), placebo (72 ± 6) Sex (M/F): epoetin beta (15/11), placebo (16/9) Other characteristics: adults with history of moderate or severe CHF (NYHA III or IV) with systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 40%), and Hb < 11.5 g/dL; no secondary cause of anaemia Exclusion criteria: patients with isolated diastolic dysfunction, valvular disease, recent myocardial infarction (within 12 weeks); severe hypertension; gastrointestinal bleeding; secondary causes of anaemia including hypothyroidism, folic acid, and vitamin B12 deficiency
Interventions	Treatment group Epoetin beta SC 6000 IU twice/wk Control group Placebo SC 6000 IU twice/wk Iron supplementation Oral ferrous gluconate 300 mg/d
Outcomes	Primary trial outcome Left ventricular dimension and function Outcome extracted for meta‐analysis All‐cause mortality
Notes	Funding: NS Trials registration: NS Contact with authors: not contacted
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Double‐blind placebo controlled
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Not described for all‐cause mortality
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	5/56 lost to follow‐up and reasons given (< 10%)
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	High risk	No data for cardiovascular events extractable for analysis
Other bias	Low risk	None apparent