Plasma exchange is more effective than plasma infusion in the treatment of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

In patients with acute renal failure at the onset of multiple myeloma, there is no conclusive evidence that 5 to 7 plasma exchanges substantially reduce a composite outcome of death, dialysis dependence, or glomerular filtration rate less than 0.29 mL.s(-2).m(-2) (<30 mL/min per 1.73 m2) at 6 months.

Background: Despite advances in treatment options for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), there are still limited high quality data to inform clinicians regarding its appropriate treatment. Methods: In June 2018, the ISTH formed a multidisciplinary guideline panel to issue recommendations about treatment of TTP. The panel discussed 12 treatment questions related to immune-mediated TTP (iTTP) and hereditary or congenital TTP (cTTP). The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach, including evidence-to-decision frameworks, to appraise evidence and formulate recommendations. Results: The panel agreed on 11 recommendations based on evidence ranging from very low to moderate certainty. For first acute episode and relapses of iTTP, the panel made a strong recommendation for adding corticosteroids to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and a conditional recommendation for adding rituximab and caplacizumab. For asymptomatic iTTP with low plasma ADAMTS13 activity, the panel made a conditional recommendation for the use of rituximab outside of pregnancy, but prophylactic TPE during pregnancy. For asymptomatic cTTP, the panel made a strong recommendation for prophylactic plasma infusion during pregnancy, and a conditional recommendation for plasma infusion or a wait and watch approach outside of pregnancy. Conclusions: The panel's recommendations are based on all the available evidence for the effects of an individual component of various treatment approaches, including suppressing inflammation, blocking platelet clumping, replacing the missing and/or inhibited ADAMTS13, and suppressing the formation of ADAMTS13 autoantibody. There was insufficient evidence for further comparing different treatment approaches (eg, TPE, corticosteroids, rituximab, and caplacizumab, etc.), for which high quality studies are needed. | 2497 ZHENG Et al.

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Background: Despite an increase in our understandings of pathogenesis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), the approaches for initial diagnosis and management of TTP vary significantly. Objective: The evidence-based guidelines of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) are intended to support patients, clinicians, and other health care professionals in their decisions about the initial diagnosis and management of acute TTP. Methods: In June 2018, ISTH formed a multidisciplinary panel that included hematologists, an intensive care physician, nephrologist, clinical pathologist, biostatistician, and patient representatives, as well as a methodology team from McMaster University. The panel composition was designed to minimize the potential conflicts of interests. The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach and the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome framework to develop and grade their recommendations. Public comments were sought and incorporated in the final document. Results: The panel agreed on three recommendations covering the initial diagnosis with emphasis on the importance of ADAMTS13 testing (eg, activity, anti-ADAMTS13 IgG or inhibitor) and assessment of the pretest probability of TTP by clinical assessment and/or the risk assessment models like the PLASMIC or French score. The panel noted how availability and turnaround time of ADAMTS13 test results might affect early diagnosis and management, in particular the use of caplacizumab. Conclusions: There is a lack of high-quality evidence to support strong recommendations for the initial diagnosis and management of a suspected TTP. The panel emphasized the importance of obtaining ADAMTS13 testing in a proper clinical context. | 2487 ZHENG Et al.

For the past few years, the Canadian Apheresis Study Group has collected data on most apheresis procedures carried out throughout the country. The information accumulated during calendar year 1985 has been reviewed, and the complications that occurred as a result of therapeutic plasma exchange (PE) have been assessed. There were side effects during 612 (12%) of the 5235 procedures done, involving 252 (40%) of the 627 patients treated. The most common reactions were fever, chills, urticaria, muscle cramps, or paresthesias; these reactions were encountered more frequently when plasma was used in the replacement fluid. Most reactions had little or no clinical significance. However, there were 28 severe complications, including one cardiac arrest and two respiratory arrests. Five late deaths occurred, but these were not related directly to PE. Although PE is relatively safe, life-threatening reactions do occur, and patients require careful observation during the procedure.

IntroductionSepsis and septic shock are leading causes of intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. They are characterized by excessive inflammation, upregulation of procoagulant proteins and depletion of natural anticoagulants. Plasma exchange has the potential to improve survival in sepsis by removing inflammatory cytokines and restoring deficient plasma proteins. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of plasma exchange in patients with sepsis.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Scopus, reference lists of relevant articles, and grey literature for relevant citations. We included randomized controlled trials comparing plasma exchange or plasma filtration with usual care in critically ill patients with sepsis or septic shock. Two reviewers independently identified trials, extracted trial-level data and performed risk of bias assessments using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality reported at longest follow-up. Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model.ResultsOf 1,957 records identified, we included four unique trials enrolling a total of 194 patients (one enrolling adults only, two enrolling children only, one enrolling adults and children). The mean age of adult patients ranged from 38 to 53 years (n = 128) and the mean age of children ranged from 0.9 to 18 years (n = 66). All trials were at unclear to high risk of bias. The use of plasma exchange was not associated with a significant reduction in all-cause mortality (risk ratio (RR) 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45 to 1.52, I2 60%). In adults, plasma exchange was associated with reduced mortality (RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.96; I2 0%), but was not in children (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.28 to 3.38; I2 60%). None of the trials reported ICU or hospital lengths of stay. Only one trial reported adverse events associated with plasma exchange including six episodes of hypotension and one allergic reaction to fresh frozen plasma.ConclusionsInsufficient evidence exists to recommend plasma exchange as an adjunctive therapy for patients with sepsis or septic shock. Rigorous randomized controlled trials evaluating clinically relevant patient-centered outcomes are required to evaluate the impact of plasma exchange in this condition.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-014-0699-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

More than one third of patients who survive an acute episode of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura will have at least one relapse during the following 10 years.