Complications Of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange Research Articles

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Neurological Conditions: An Observation from the Eastern Part of India.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an extracorporeal process of separation of plasma from the cellular components of blood and its replacement with analogous fluids. This process is effective in treatment of disease conditions from dysregulation of the humoral immune system by removal of various humoral pathogenic substances like antibodies, immune complexes, monoclonal proteins, toxins or cytokine(s) and/or the replenishment of a specific plasma factor. To evaluate major indications of therapeutic plasma exchange in neurological disorders. To identify major complications associated and factors associated with premature cessation of the therapeutic plasma exchange cycle. Materials and Methods: This is a hospital based retrospective study conducted by analyzing medical records of patients, who had undergone therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for various neurological disorders at IMS & SUM hospital. Medical records total 118 patients who underwent TPE from January 2016 to December 2021 were analyzed. The demographic data, blood group pattern and indications for TPE were enumerated from the records. Various complications of TPE and reasons for incomplete TPE cycle were documented and analyzed. A total of 508 TPE procedures were performed on 118 patients. In this study 61 patients were male and 57 patients were female. O-blood group was commonest blood group among the patients. GBS is the commonest indication of TPE. 57.6 % of patients could complete all sessions TPE cycle. Blockage of vascular access is the commonest cause of incomplete TPE session. Cramps (33%) and mild transient hypotension (27.1%0 were the commonest complications observed. TPE is a safe and effective treatment option for various immune-mediated neurological disorders and should be considered in managing these disorders.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: A retrospective, single-center study of 2505 procedures performed in 338 patients over 15 years.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) may involve complications. We aimed to review the demographic data, indications, technical information, and complications. Data for TPE procedures (TPEPs) performed between 2004 and 2018 were retrospectively. This study covered 2505 TPEPs performed on 338 patients; 55% of them were female (n = 186), and the median age was 36 years (range, 11-93 years). Most TPEPs were administered for hematological (40.6%) indications. The incidence of complications on the first procedure was 3.2% (n = 80); only 16 procedures (0.6%) were failed. The complication incidence was 19.8% (n = 497), with 789 total complications. Most of the complications were patient-related (90.4%), and the most of them were urticaria (29.1%), occlusion (3.2%), and faulty systems (1.01%), respectively. The use of only fresh frozen plasma as replacement fluid caused a higher complication rate (22.1%, p < 0.01). The number of TPEPs is increasing every day. Hematologic indications for TPE and the use of fresh frozen plasma may increase the risk of complications.

Early clinical response and complications of therapeutic plasma exchange in central nervous system demyelinating diseases.

Appropriate treatment reduces the severity and duration of relapses in demyelinating diseases of Central Nervous System (CNS). If high-dose corticosteroids treatment fails, therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is considered as a rescue treatment. This study aimed to investigate early clinical response and complications of TPE and prognostic factors in CNS demyelinating relapses. This prospective observational study was designed in a tertiary center during one year. All adult patients diagnosed corticosteroid-resistant Multiple Sclerosis (MS), NeuroMyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), idiotypic Transverse Myelitis or Clinical Isolated Syndrome relapses, were eligible. Clinical response is defined based on Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) at discharge. Clinical and laboratory complications recorded. Seventy-two patients were analyzed which 58.3% patients were female. MS was diagnosed for 61.1% of cases. Thirty-five patients (48.6%) responded and the mean differences of EDSS significantly decreased 0.60 score (CI95%:0.44-.77). Electrolyte imbalances and thrombocytopenia occurred in 80.6% and 55.6% of cases respectively and 40.3% of patients had systemic reactions. However, 26.4% patients experienced moderate to severe complications. In patients with moderate to severe disability, responders were younger (MD: 8.42years, CI95%: 1.67-15.17) and had lower EDSS score at admission (median:6, IQR: 5.5-6 against 7.5 IQR: 6.5-8). The risk of failure was higher in active progressive MS patients compared with RRMS patients (OR: 6.06, CI 95%:1.37-26.76). Patients with thrombocytopenia were hospitalized more than others (MD: 1.5 days, CI 95%: 0-3). Females were more prone to hypokalemia and systemic reactions (OR: 3.11, CI 95%:1.17-8.24 and OR: 6.67, CI 95%:2.14-20.81 respectively). The most common indication of TPE was corticosteroid-resistant severe MS relapses. About half of the patients presented an early clinical response. Lower disability, younger age and RRMS diagnosis are prognostic factors of better response. One out of four patients experienced moderate to severe complications, mainly electrolyte imbalances and systemic reactions. Appropriate interventions against these complications should be considered during TPE, especially in females.

Complications of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in pediatric patients: An experience at a tertiary care hospital.

To find the incidence of various complications of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in ICU admitted children and to determine their association with age, gender, blood group and diagnosis of the patients. In this observational study, data of 24 patients who underwent 125 sessions of TPE was collected from the Pediatric Intensive care unit (PICU) and Hematology department of The Children's Hospital, Lahore from December 2020 to November 2021. Age, gender, blood group, indications and complications observed during and after the TPE procedure were documented on a pre-designed proforma. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 23. Quantitative variables were presented in the form of mean and standard deviation. Qualitative variables like gender, blood groups, indications and complications of plasmapheresis were presented as frequency and percentage. Chi square test was applied for comparison of variables. Among the 24 patients, 45.8% were of age group five to ten years with mean age of 7.58 years± 2.04 years and male to female ratio of 0.84:1. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Neuromyelitis Optica spectrum disorder (NMO-SD) were the most prevalent among the patients who underwent TPE. Most common complication was hypotension (44.9%), others were febrile reactions (11.6%), unstable vital signs (14.5%) and allergic reactions (24.6%). Blood group, clinical condition and diagnosis of the patient showed significant association with the incidence of TPE related complications. The majority of problems caused by TPE are considered to be minor. Sudden fall in blood pressure, pruritus, urticarial rash and fever are the common adverse consequences among pediatric patients. Blood group and diagnosis of the patient can determine the development of such complications during plasmapheresis procedure.

Retrospective evaluation of therapeutic plasma exchange treatment in a pediatric intensive care unit: Single-center experience.

The aim of this study is to characterize the clinical indications, outcomes, and complications of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in pediatric intensive care unit. A retrospective study was conducted on critically ill patients who received TPE. A dataset of 672 treatments administered to 102 patients was analyzed. The most common indication for TPE was COVID-19-related clinical conditions, followed by sepsis (24.5%), neurological diseases (9.8%) and renal diseases (6.9%). None of our patients died due to TPE-related complications, and the most common complication during and after the TPE was hypotension (21.7%). Although TPE is riskier to provide to critically ill children, our experience indicates that it can be performed relatively safely in critically ill children with appropriate treatment indications. In particular, indications, onset time, number of sessions and other procedures should be standardized for the pediatric age group.

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange for Treating Pediatric Neurological Diseases

Objective: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is performed in various neurological, hematological, renal and autoimmune diseases. This study was conducted to determine the indications, efficacy, safety and complications of TPE in pediatric autoimmune neurological diseases. Methods: In this study, patients who were hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary university hospital between January 2017 and December 2021 and underwent TPE due to neurological diseases were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 20 patients were included in the study. Their ages ranged from 6 to 237 months, with a mean age of 63.16±183.12 months. Neurological TPE indications of the patients were autoimmune encephalitis (50%, n=10), Guillain-Barre Syndrome (45%, n=9) and Acute Demyelinating Encephalomyelitis (6.7%, n=1), respectively. Catheter occlusion was observed in 2 (10%) patients, allergic reaction in 1 (5%) patient, and hypotension in 1 (5%) patient as complications of TPE. Muscle strength of patients with GBS was evaluated according to the Medical Research Council scale before transfer to the service. It was determined that the score increased from 0 to 1 in two patients, from 0 to 3 in three patients, and from 1 to 5 in four patients. In 9 of the patients diagnosed with encephalitis, regression of acute phase reactants and improvement in neurological evaluation were observed. Conclusion: When TPE is applied with appropriate indications and by an experienced team in pediatric neurological diseases, treatment results can are satisfactory, its effectiveness increases and the complication rate decreases.

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE) Complications in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS): A Report From a Tertiary Center.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a conventional second-line treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome with steroid-refractory relapses. MS and clinically isolated syndrome patients with a steroid-refractory relapse, who fulfilled the indications for TPE were enrolled in this study. An expert nurse recorded the data comprising age, sex, type of MS, disease modifying therapy, disease duration, relapse rate, vital signs at the beginning, during and at the end of each plasma exchange session, plasma exchange volume, normal saline volume, and TPE complications. Ultimately, the statistical association was estimated amongst the variables. A total of 122 cases were assessed. Twelve cases (9.8%) received plasmapheresis for the second time. The mean age was 32.2±8.7 years and 107 (87.7%) were female. In total, 609 plasma exchange sessions were completed. Hypotension and skin reaction were the most clinical complications. Hemoglobin loss and hypokalemia were the most laboratory complications. Fifty-four cases (44.3%) had no complications, 40 (32.8%) had 1 complication, 21 (17.2%) 2 complications, 6 (4.9%) had 3 complications, and 1 (0.8%) disclosed 4 complications. The relapse rate in the past 12 months and the mean plasma volume exchange were significantly different between the groups. We revealed that TPE could be considered as a safe second-line therapy in MS relapses. Hypotension, skin reaction, hemoglobin loss, and hypokalemia were the most complications of TPE in our patients.

Tolerance and complications of therapeutic plasma exchange by centrifugation: A single center experience.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) constitutes an important therapy for hematological, neurological, immunological, and nephrological diseases. Most studies have focused on efficacy, whereas tolerance and complications during sessions have been less well studied and not recently. We conducted a single center retrospective study of all patients who underwent TPE between 2011 and 2018. TPE sessions using the centrifugation technique were performed by dedicated trained nurses. Specific side effects were identified through surveillance forms completed contemporaneously. The primary outcome was the rate of all-type adverse effects that occurred during the TPE sessions. In total, 1895 TPE sessions performed on 185 patients were analyzed. At least one adverse effect was reported for 805 sessions (42.5% [29.9%-70.1%]), corresponding to 171 patients (92.4% [87.6%-95.8%]). Hypotension occurred during 288 sessions (15.2%), was asymptomatic in 95.8% of cases, and more frequent with the use of 4% albumin than fresh frozen plasma (FFP) (19.8 vs 8.9%, P <.0001). Hypocalcemia occurred during 370 sessions (19.6%) and was more frequent with the use of FFP than with the use of albumin alone (FFP alone: 28.0%, albumin + FFP: 26%, albumin alone: 11.7%; P <.0001). Allergic reactions occurred during 56 sessions (3%), exclusively with FFP. Severe adverse effects were reported for 0.3% of sessions and 5.4% of patients. TPE is a safe therapy when performed by a trained team. Adverse effects were frequent but mostly not serious. The replacement fluid was the main determinant of the occurrence of complications. (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03888417).

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with neurological disorders

Background: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is the treatment of choice for many neurologic disorders. The safety of this procedure is a major concern for physicians. The aim of this study was to determine the complications of TPE in patients with neurologic disorders at a tertiary referral hospital. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated patients with various neurologic disorders receiving TPE in neurology department of Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Major and minor complications related to TPE were recorded. Results: Clinical information records of 417 TPE sessions (88 patients) were available. Mean age of patients was 40.0 ± 15.8 years. Underlying diseases included central demyelinating disorders, myasthenia gravis (MG), chronic neuropathy, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), and autoimmune encephalopathy in 34.1%, 33.0%, 17.0%, 14.8%, and 1.1% of patients, respectively. Major complications occurred in 15.9% of patients and 37.5% of patients accounted for minor complications. Among major adverse effects, thrombosis, infection, and lifethreatening complications were seen more commonly in patients with central vascular access (P = 0.005, P = 0.003, and P = 0.010, respectively). Conclusion: TPE complications were seen more commonly in patients with central vascular access. Therefore, use of peripheral vascular access and vigilant patient monitoring by trained health providers can reduce its complications.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: A retrospective study of 1201 procedures in 435 children.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is now widely used in therapy of multiple diseases in children, by removing the plasma with pathogenic agents from patients. However, adverse reactions may limit its application.A retrospective cohort study of 435 hospitalized children treated with 1201 plasma exchange procedures between January 2013 and July 2018 were enrolled.Complications occurred in 152 procedures (12.7%); 90 procedures (7.5%) had ≥2 complications. No death occurred. The most common complications were pruritus and urticaria (7%), followed by hypertension (1.92%) and hypotension (1.17%). One child had an outbreak of disseminated cryptococcosis neoformans infection, another child developed anaphylactic shock, and 3 children presented toxic epidermal necrolysis after TPE. The incidence of pruritus and urticaria was higher in children of the 6∼15 year group (P < .05) compared with other age groups. There was no significant difference in the incidence of hypertension and hypotension in children at different ages and weights (P > .05). Compared with other diseases, anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (anti-NMDA) receptor encephalitis led to a higher incidence of complications in children (P < .05).The results suggest that TPE is a relatively safe procedure for children, and most of the complications are mild. The most common complication is pruritus and urticaria. However, serious complications such as toxic epidermal necrolysis and infection should still be taken seriously.

Complications of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Patient with Neurological Disorders

Background: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a procedure used in neurological disorders where autoimmunity plays a major role. Though it is a relatively safe procedure, severe complications may occur.Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the incidence of TPE related complications in patients with different neurological disorders.Methodology: This prospective study was conducted in 91 patients, in department of Transfusion Medicine at National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital (NINS) from February 2014 to January 2017 for a period of three (03) years. All admitted patients with neurological disorders advised for TPE were included in this study.Results: Age range was from 13 to 70 years with a mean age of 37.14±13.79 years. 67(74%) were men and 24(26.0%) were women. The most common diagnosis was Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in 79.1 % (n=72) cases followed by myasthenia gravis (MG) in 13.2% (n=12), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in 6.6 % (n= 6), multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) in 1.1% (n=1) cases. Total number of 332 TPE sessions was performed with the median of 4 sessions per patient (range 1 to 9). Total 99 (29.8%) adverse reactions occurred in 332 TPE sessions. The most common adverse effect was hypotension (n=35, 10.54 %) followed by allergic reactions (n=29, 8.73 %), access problem (n= 12, 3.61 %) and vomiting (n=8, 2.41 %). Most of the adverse reactions were mild and improved spontaneously or by using simple medications. Out of 332 TPE sessions, 330(99.4%) procedures were completed successfully after managing the adverse reactions. TPE were discontinued in 2 occasions (0.6% of procedures) due to inadequate venous access. There was no mortality related to TPE procedure.Conclusion: In spite of few complications, TPE can be considered as a safe method of treatment in neurologic disorders when carried out with all necessary precautions.Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, 2017;3(2): 69-74

Therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: A retrospective multicenter study

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a particular form of thrombotic microangiopathy typically characterized by thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, fever, neurological abnormalities, and renal dysfunction. TTP requires a rapid diagnosis and an adapted management in emergency. Daily sessions of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) remain the basis of management of TTP. Also, TTP is a rare disease that is fatal if it is not treated. TPE has resulted in excellent remission and survival rates in TTP patients. AimWe aimed to present our experience in 163 patients with TTP treated with TPE during the past 5years from 10 centers of Turkey. Patients and methodsOne hundered and sixty-three patients with TTP treated with TPE during the past 5years from 10 centers of Turkey were retrospectively evaluated. TPE was carried out 1–1.5times plasma volume. Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) was used as the replacement fluid. TPE was performed daily until normalization of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and recovery of the platelet count to >150×109/dL. TPE was then slowly tapered. Clinical data, the number of TPE, other given therapy modalities, treatment outcomes, and TPE complications were recorded. ResultsFifty-eight percent (95/163) of the patients were females. The median age of the patients was 42years (range; 16–82). The median age of male patients was significantly higher than female (53 vs. 34years; p<0.001). All patients had thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. At the same time, 82.8% (135/163) of patients had neurological abnormalities, 78.5% (128/163) of patients had renal dysfunction, and 89% (145/163) of patients had fever. Also, 10.4% (17/163) of patients had three of the five criteria, 10.4% (17/163) of patients had four of the five criteria, and 6.1% (10/163) of patients had all of the five criteria. Primary TTP comprised of 85.9% (140/163) of the patients and secondary TTP comprised of 14.1% (23/163) of the patients. Malignancy was the most common cause in secondary TTP. The median number of TPE was 13 (range; 1–80). The number of TPE was significantly higher in complete response (CR) patients (median 15.0 vs. 3.5; p<0.001). CR was achieved in 85.3% (139/163) of the patients. Similar results were achieved with TPE in both primary and secondary TTP (85% vs. 87%, respectively; p=0.806). There was no advantage of TPE+prednisolone compared to TPE alone in terms of CR rates (82.1% vs. 76.7%; p=0.746). CR was not achieved in 14.7% (24/163) of the patients and these patients died of TTP related causes. There were no statistical differences in terms of mortality rate between patients with secondary and primary TTP [15% (21/140) vs. 13% (3/23); p=0.806]. But, we obtained significant statistical differences in terms of mortality rate between patients on TPE alone and TPE+prednisolone [14% (12/86) vs. 3% (2/67), p<0.001]. ConclusionsTPE is an effective treatment for TTP and is associated with high CR rate in both primary and secondary TTP. Thrombocytopenia together with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia is mandatory for the diagnosis of TTP and if these two criteria met in a patient, TPE should be performed immediately.

A Retrospective study of complications of therapeutic plasma exchange in myasthenia

Venous access for therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in myasthenia gravis (MG) can be achieved by central venous catheters (CVC) or peripheral veins (PV), and the preferred method varies among providers. We evaluated our institutional experience with TPE venous access method and complications. We reviewed all TPE-treated MG patients (2005-2010) through blinded chart review. TPE complications were categorized as serious or minor. Serious complications ended the procedure and/or were potentially life-threatening. A total of 134 MG patients received 230 TPE courses; 56% were outpatient procedures. Whenever feasible, TPE was performed by PV access, which was successful in 75% of courses. Over 90% in both groups improved after TPE. Compared with PV access, CVCs were associated with more total (68% vs. 35%) and serious complications (41% vs. 4%), including 2 deaths. PV access for TPE can be used successfully in most MG patients and may reduce morbidity of the procedure.

Therapeutic plasma exchange reduces ABO titers to permit ABO‐incompatible renal transplantation

Thousands of patients with chronic renal failure die yearly without a kidney transplant due to the severe shortage of donors. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is performed to permit ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) kidney transplants, but little is known about how well TPE reduces ABO antibodies or complications related to TPE in this clinical setting. This retrospective study evaluated 46 individuals that received TPE to permit ABO-I kidney transplant. The number of TPE treatments was based on a goal ABO titer at the anti-human globulin (AHG) phase of 16 or less before surgery. Before TPE, the median titer of recipient was 32 (range, 2-128) at room temperature (RT) phase and 64 (range, 4-1024) at AHG phase. The first TPE reduced the total agglutination reactivity score at AHG phase by 10.2 percent. Before transplantation, there was a mean of 6.2 +/- 2.5 TPE treatments and total agglutination reactivity score at AHG phase was reduced by 53.5 percent. The median titer remained reduced at 3 to 6 months after transplantation at 4 (range, 0-64) at RT phase and 8 (range, 1-64) at AHG phase. TPE complications were minimal. During at least one procedure, 15 (32.6%) individuals had either urticaria or pruritus, 18 (39.1%) individuals experienced mild citrate-induced hypocalcemia, 5 (10.2%) individuals had hypotension, 6 (13.0%) individuals had nausea or vomiting, and 1 (2.2%) individual had West Nile virus encephalitis. With current infectious disease blood screening protocols, TPE has minimal complications and can reduce ABO antibody titers to permit ABO-I renal transplantation.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: A prospective study of 1,727 procedures

The type and number of complications was prospectively examined in 1,727 successive TPE treatments in 174 patients over 66 months at a single center. Most treatments were prescribed for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP; 42%), recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS; 22%), or myasthenia gravis (MG; 13%). About 57% of treatments used albumin-saline as the replacement solution and 43% used fresh-frozen plasma (FFP), almost all for TTP. There were 889 complications; 614 treatments (36% of the total) involved a complication. Most complications were minor; there were no deaths. Three treatments (0.2%) were discontinued due to a complication, and 2 (0.1%) required transfer to a higher acuity hospital bed. The most common complications were fever (7.7% of treatments), urticaria (7.4%), and hypocalcemic symptoms (7.3%). 42% of treatments with FFP involved a complication, compared to 30% of treatments using albumin-saline (P < 0.0001). The most common complications with FFP were urticaria (17%) and pruritus (13%); these occurred more commonly than in patients receiving albumin-saline. The most common complications with albumin-saline replacement were hypocalcemic symptoms (8.2%) and mild hypotension (8.1%). Mild and severe hypotension was significantly (P < 0.0001) more common with albumin-saline replacement. TPE is associated with a number of minor complications. Complications occur more commonly with FFP replacement compared to albumin-saline replacement. Pruritus and urticaria occur more commonly with FFP, and hypotension occurs more commonly with albumin-saline.

Complications of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange: Experience With 4857 Treatments

Plasma exchange (PE) is a technique of extracorporeal blood purification which removes large molecular weight substances from plasma. The Department of Dialysis, Zagreb University Hospital Center's database, which includes data on 509 patients, or 4857 PE treatments, was retrospectively analyzed to test the safety of PE. A total of 231 adverse reactions were recorded (4.75% of treatments). The most common complications were paresthesias (2.7%), hematoma at the puncture site (2.4%), clotting (1.7%), mild to moderate allergic reactions (urticaria; 1.6%) and bleeding (0.06%). True anaphylactoid reactions were recorded in five procedures. The incidence of severe, potentially life-threatening adverse reactions was 0.12%. The prophylactic use of calcium and potassium was responsible for a low incidence of electrolyte disturbances. There was no lethal outcome associated with PE. When carried out by experienced staff, PE is a relatively safe procedure. The use of fresh frozen plasma is associated with a higher rate of adverse reactions.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: a recent assessment.

The use of therapeutic plasma exchange, particularly for management of patients with neurological disorders, has steadily increased in our hospital since 1991, thus highlighting the need for continuing quality assurance of these services. We have reviewed the hemapheresis records of all 381 therapeutic plasma exchange procedures performed on a total of 63 patients from January 1991 through December 1992. Patients were referred for therapeutic plasma exchange for the following indications: acute Guillain-Barre syndrome, 31 patients (49.2%); chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, 15 patients (23.8%); myasthenia gravis, five patients (7.94%); paraproteinemic neuropathy, five patients (7.94%); thrombotic microangiopathies, six patients (9.52%) and Goodpasture syndrome, one patient (1.6%). Overall, 89% of patients were treated for neurological disorders. Complications of plasma exchange were noted during 17% (n = 65) of procedures involving 49% (n = 31) of patients treated. Approximately 91% of complications were classified as mild (55.4%) or moderately severe (35.4%) and did not prevent successful completion of the procedure. These were largely related to use of citrate-containing anticoagulants and additionally may have reflected the autonomic instability of many of the neuropathy patients. All four (6.15%) severe complications and one of two fatalities were related to the use of central venous access catheters. We conclude that therapeutic plasma exchange can be performed safely with acceptable toxicity caused by mild and moderately severe complications. Major complications may be minimized by careful management of central venous catheters when required for access.

Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange.

We reviewed complications associated with 1211 therapeutic plasma exchanges done on 132 patients. Complications were encountered during 148 (12%) procedures and involved 64 (48.5%) patients. Most of the complications were minor in nature but in 17 (12.9% of patients) cases the patient developed serious or potentially serious complications. In 12 cases it was serious enough to terminate the procedure. Most of the complications were due to adverse reactions to the replacement fluid. Twenty-seven (2.2%) procedures were complicated by technical problems. The relatively low rate of serious complications in our series may be due to careful observation of the patients during and after the procedure.