An individual with chronic kidney disease experiences persistently low erythropoietin levels; which outcome is most likely if recombinant erythropoietin treatment is abruptly discontinued?

💡 Explanation

If recombinant erythropoietin is abruptly stopped, the bone marrow's red blood cell production plummets due to erythropoietin deficiency. This causes severe normocytic anemia because erythropoiesis cannot be maintained. Therefore, anemia develops rapidly, rather than other unrelated effects, since the kidney cannot compensate adequately.

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