Adamski, Jill

Millions of patients in the United States use anticoagulation for a variety of indications, such as the prevention of stroke in those with atrial fibrillation (AF) and the treatment and prevention of venous thrombosis. For over six decades warfarin was the only available oral anticoagulant, but now several DOACs are available and their use has become more prevalent in recent years. In spite of this increased use, many physicians remain reluctant to prescribe DOACs due to concerns about bleeding and reversibility.

ABSTRACTThis report describes a patient with light chain myeloma and acute renal injury. Serum kappa free light chain (FLC) was extremely elevated, >33,000 mg/dL. Treatment with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) started day 2 for biopsy‐confirmed cast nephropathy. Bortezomib‐containing chemotherapy was initiated on day 5, and hemodialysis for tumor lysis syndrome on day 7. TPE alone decreased kappa FLC >70% by day 5, indicating direct FLC removal was successful in this patient. A total of 25 TPE procedures were performed in a 31‐day hospitalization. Hemodialysis was discontinued after 3 months, and the patient's renal function and kappa FLC remain stable. Although the use of TPE for FLC removal is controversial, recent evidence supports its use as adjuvant therapy for acute renal injury secondary to myeloma cast nephropathy. TPE can be effective for rapidly reducing FLC; however, several TPE procedures might be required to reduce the risk of hemodialysis dependency.

AbstractThrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) has >90% mortality without therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). Despite TPE, approximately 10% of patients still die, presumably from cardiac ischemia. We sought clinical or laboratory parameters associated with death by reviewing the records of all patients hospitalized with acquired TTP in our institution for 10 years, and collect demographics and results for hemoglobin, platelet count, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, transaminases, total bilirubin, creatinine kinase (CK), CK‐MB, and troponin I. Sixty‐eight patients were admitted 88 times, and 11 died. Survivors and non‐survivors were similar in terms of sex, ethnicity, thrombocytopenia, and degree of anemia at presentation, while the latter were older, had worse renal function and higher CK, CK‐MB, and troponin I (univariate analysis). However, only troponin I remained significant on multivariate analyses. We propose that patients with TTP should be monitored with troponin I to detect significant myocardial ischemia that could predict death despite TPE.

AbstractBackgroundAlthough many apheresis centers offer extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), little is known about current treatment practices.MethodsAn electronic survey was distributed to assess ECP practice internationally.ResultsOf 251 responses, 137 met criteria for analysis. Most respondents were from North America (80%). Nurses perform ECP at most centers (84%) and the majority of centers treat adults only (52%). Most centers treat fewer than 50 patients/year (83%) and perform fewer than 300 procedures/year (70%). Closed system devices (XTS and/or Cellex) are used to perform ECP at most centers (96%). The most common indications for ECP are acute/chronic skin graft versus host disease (89%) and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (63%). The typical wait time for ECP treatment is less than 2 weeks (91%). Most centers do not routinely perform quality control assessment of the collected product (66%). There are device‐specific differences in treatment parameters. For example, XTS users more frequently have a minimum weight limit (P = 0.003) and use laboratory parameters to determine eligibility for treatment (P = 0.03). Regardless of device used, the majority of centers assess the clinical status of the patient before each procedure. Greater than 50% of respondents would defer treatment for hemodynamic instability due to active sepsis or heart failure, positive blood culture in the past 24 h or current fever.ConclusionThis survey based study describes current ECP practices. Further research to provide evidence for optimal standardization of patient qualifications, procedure parameters and product quality assessment is recommended.

Key Clinical MessageRasburicase for the treatment of tumor lysis syndrome has been associated with hemolytic anemia and methemoglobinemia, usually in patients with G6PD deficiency. Risks and benefits should be considered prior to use of rasburicase in at‐risk patients. Methylene blue will worsen the hemolytic anemia in G6PD deficiency and should be avoided.

Apheresis was first performed as a therapeutic procedure in the 1950s. The first national therapeutic apheresis (TA) registry was established in Canada in 1981 and other national registries followed, including two attempts at establishing an international TA registry. There is no national registry in the United States. Our large, academic, tertiary hospital has a very active TA service. We created a TA database to track all procedures performed by the apheresis service by transferring data from paper appointment logs and the electronic medical records into a Microsoft Access database. Retrospective data from each TA procedure performed at UAB from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2012 were entered, including the type of procedure, indication, date, and patient demographics. Microsoft Excel was used for data analysis. During the 10‐year period, our TA service treated 1,060 patients and performed 11,718 procedures. Of these patients, 70% received therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), 21% received extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), 4.5% received red cell exchange (RCE), 4.2% received leukocytapheresis, and 0.6% underwent platelet depletion. Among the procedures, 54% were TPEs, 44% were ECPs, 1.3% were RCEs, 0.5% were leukocytaphereses, and 0.1% were platelet depletions. According to the current literature, national and international TA use is underreported. We believe that the UAB TA registry provides useful information about TA practices in our region and can serve as a model for other institutions. Furthermore, data from multiple institutional registries can be used for clinical research to increase the available evidence for the role of TA in various conditions. J. Clin. Apheresis 31:516–522, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a clinicopathological condition associated with a wide variety of medical conditions. TMA is classically characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and microvascular thrombi that cause end-organ damage. The most prominent diagnoses associated with TMA are thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Although TTP and HUS can have similar clinical and laboratory features and are often lumped together as a combined entity referred to as “TTP/HUS,” the pathologic processes causing TMA and optimal therapies for these conditions are different. Empiric use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in the setting of TMA is common. The high risk of morbidity and mortality associated with some causes of TMA justify rapid institution of this relatively low-risk procedure. However, many causes of TMA do not respond to TPE and prolonged courses of exchange in the absence of an underlying diagnosis may cause a detrimental delay in appropriate medical therapy. The American Society of Apheresis has published guidelines for the use of TPE for several distinct conditions associated with TMA. This list is not comprehensive and the use of TPE for other causes of TMA may be considered if the mechanism of the underlying disease process provides a clear rationale for this intervention.

Background: Allograft dysfunction due to presumed antibody‐mediated rejection (pAMR) is one of the most serious complications of heart transplantation. Combination therapies of high‐dose steroids, intravenous immune globulin, and/or therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) are often used in this setting. Methods: We performed a 9‐year retrospective review of all episodes of pAMR treated with TPE at our institution. pAMR diagnosis was based on clinical and pathologic findings. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured at baseline, prior to initiation of TPE, and during the course of treatment. Results: There were 42 patients with 47 episodes of pAMR treated with TPE. The majority of episodes were treated with three TPE; however, eight required only two TPE and five episodes required >3 TPE. All episodes of pAMR had LVEF measured before and after the series of TPEs. The mean pre‐TPE LVEF was 38% compared with a post‐therapy mean LVEF of 50% (P < 0.0001). In 16 episodes of pAMR, for which LVEF was measured following each apheresis, there was significant improvement of allograft function after the first TPE (pre‐TPE mean LVEF of 31% and post‐first TPE mean LVEF of 37%; P = 0.02). Incremental and significant improvement in allograft function continued following each TPE. Changes in human leukocyte antigen‐donor specific antibodies and fibrinogen did not correlate with ejection fraction response. Conclusions: The rapid improvement in allograft function in our patients is most likely due to TPE as other pharmacologic interventions have longer onset. TPE should be considered a first‐line intervention in the setting of pAMR. J. Clin. Apheresis 29:316–321 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.