Role of Apheresis in Different Hematological and Autoimmune Disorders

Abstract

Therapeutic• apheresis is the removal of blood or one of its components from the body for clinical purposes. Many automated blood cell separators are now available for this process. These instruments process blood with either centrifugation or filtration techniques. The centrifugation technique is available in either intermittent or continuous flow technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of

apheresis in different hematological and autoimmune disorders ; regarding efficiency and side effects of the technique used.

The present study comprised 76 patients, 36 males and

40 females with age range of3-74 years. They were four groups: I) 45 patients subjected to plasma exchange (PE): 20 patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura CITP), 14 patients with Guillian-Barre syndrome GBS), and 11 patients myasthenia gravis (MG), 11) 24 sickle cell disease patients subjected to red cell exchange: 12 in-patients admitted either for performing operations (n=5) or suffering from sickle cell crises (n=7); and 12 outpatients followed for 6 successive months for prophylactic red cell exchange program, 111) 6 leukemic patients, with high total leukocytic count, subjected to leukapheresis, and l V) one patient with CML subjected to thrombocytapheresis . Cobe Spectra automated continuous flow cell separators were used for all patients. 598 different procedures were done for the 76 patients; 3 75 procedures for TTP patients, 78 for patients