Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an apheresis procedure in which plasma is separated from the blood cellular components ex vivo, allocated, and replaced with another plasma or a plasma-replacing fluid. This study aimed to define the rate of complications and determine TPE distribution in various neurological diseases. Our study is a retrospective analysis of neurologic diseases requiring TPE between 2008 and 2019 that were selected using the medical records of neurology departments and apheresis units database. We performed 1459 TPE procedures on 207 patients between 2008 and 2019. TPE Procedure is most frequently applied in patients with Myasthenia-Gravis syndrome (34.7%). The complication ratio was 1.6% from a total of 1459 TPE procedures. The most commonly specified adverse event was allergic reactions 11 (5.3%), followed by hypotension 6 (2.9%). TPE was safe and tolerable, with manageable complications in experienced hands.
Keywords: acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP); chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP); multiple sclerosis (MS); therapeutic plasma exchange.
© 2021 International Society for Apheresis, Japanese Society for Apheresis, and Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy.