Scope and application of therapeutic apheresis: Experience from a tertiary care hospital in North India

Abstract

Background We present here our experience with therapeutic apheresis (TA) performed for various indications, clinical response and complications in a tertiary care center over last 10 years. Study design and methods Present study is a retrospective analysis of 492 TA procedures performed for 125 patients from January 2000 to December 2009. For each patient: age, gender, weight, clinical indication, pre-procedure hematological profile and ionized calcium levels were recorded. For every procedure following parameters were analyzed: type of venous access (central/peripheral), volume of blood and plasma processed, amount of anticoagulant used, procedure duration, blood flow rate, type of replacement fluid given, response to therapy and adverse reactions. Results Of 492 TA procedures, 68.8% were performed for neurology, 20.8% hematology–oncology, 9.6% renal and 0.8% for rheumatology patients. Therapeutic plasma exchanges ( n = 464; 94.3%) and therapeutic cytapheresis ( n = 28; 6.7%) were performed in 113 and 12 patients, respectively. Majority of patients belonged to ASFA category I and II ( n = 124; 99.2%). The overall response rate was 84%, with encouraging response in TTP (100%), aHUS (81.8%) and in neurological disorders (88.4%). Adverse events were reported in 52.8% of patients in 14.83% of procedures. Conclusion Our results of TPE in neurological disorders and in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome are encouraging and it is a cost effective alternative to IvIg in neurological disorders. Currently, there is a need for establishment of an Indian apheresis registry to understand the scenario of TA across the country and in the expansion of appropriate and applicable indications for TA in our setting.