Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Plasmapheresis (from the Greek πλάσμα, plasma, something molded, and ἀφαίρεσις aphairesis, taking away) is the removal, treatment, and return or exchange of blood plasma or components thereof from and to the blood circulation. It is thus an extracorporeal therapy, a medical procedure performed outside the body. [1]
Plasmapheresis is a medical therapy that involves blood plasma extraction, treatment, and reintegration. Fresh frozen plasma is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines , the most important medications needed in a basic health system . [ 9 ]
Since the early 1990s, plasmapheresis has become the treatment of choice for TTP. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] This is an exchange transfusion involving removal of the person's blood plasma through apheresis and replacement with donor plasma ( fresh frozen plasma or cryosupernatant ); the procedure must be repeated daily to eliminate the inhibitor and abate ...
However, in locations that have plasma processing facilities, a part of the donor's plasma can also be collected in a separate blood bag (see plasmapheresis). For example, in Australia around 5.9×10 11 platelets and 580 mL of plasma might be collected from an 88 kg donor.
The exchange transfusion is done in cycles: each one usually lasts a few minutes. [ 1 ] The patient’s blood is slowly withdrawn (usually about 5 to 20 mL at a time, depending on the patient’s size and the severity of illness), and a slightly larger amount of fresh, prewarmed blood or plasma flows into the patient's body.
The plasma from whole blood can be used to make plasma for transfusions or it can also be processed into other medications using a process called fractionation. This was a development of the dried plasma used to treat the wounded during World War II and variants on the process are still used to make a variety of other medications. [74] [75]
Even after treatment, the condition will recur unless the underlying disorder is treated. [citation needed] Serum viscosity and electrophoresis are recommended before and after plasmapheresis in order to correlate viscosity and M-spike with patient symptoms. This correlation may be useful for anticipating the need for repeat plasmapheresis. [6]
If the myasthenia is serious (myasthenic crisis), plasmapheresis can be used to remove the putative antibodies from the circulation. Also, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) can be used to bind the circulating antibodies. Both of these treatments have relatively short-lived benefits, typically measured in weeks, and often are associated with ...