EPO and chronic kidney disease: Furthermore, a clinical trial, which included patients with stage 4 CKD, revealed that treatment with EPO subcutaneous injection plus astragalus Shenshu(BI23), Zusanli(ST36), Sanyinjiao(SP6), Pishu(BI20) acupoint injection facilitated a notable rise in Hb, Hc, and Ret levels, in contrast to the EPO subcutaneous injection group.