Figure 1. ASCEND-ID Study Design.
Although investigators and patients were aware of the allocated treatment, the sponsor and steering committee remained blind to aggregate treatment assignment throughout the trial. ESA indicates erythropoiesis-stimulating agent; Hb, hemoglobin; IV, intravenous; rhEPO, recombinant human erythropoietin; SC, subcutaneous; and TSAT, transferrin saturation.
aLimited use was defined as no more than 6 weeks of short-acting ESA (rhEPO or biosimilars; maximum of 20 000 U total) or long-acting ESA (darbepoetin alfa [maximum of 100 μg total] or methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta [maximum of 125 μg total]) received before or after starting dialysis.
bSI conversion factor: To convert hemoglobin to grams per liter, multiply by 10.0.
cSI conversion factor: To convert ferritin to micrograms per liter, multiply by 1.0.