Therapeutic plasma exchange for life-threatening pediatric disorders
Funding information: The « Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris » supports this project.
Abstract
Introduction
Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is acknowledged to be an effective treatment in life-threatening pediatric disorders. Apheresis for pediatric diseases has been poorly investigated, and most studies to date featured small numbers of patients and lacked control groups. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the tolerance of TPE in pediatric patients.
Materials and Methods
A retrospective cohort study via a web-based electronic case report form including pediatric patients referred for TPE between January 2005 and December 2014.
Results
A total of 78 patients (median [range] age: 9.8 [0.53-17.93]) and 731 TPE procedures were analyzed. The indications were antibody-mediated rejection (n = 33; 42%) and desensitization therapy (n = 5; 6%) after solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, thrombotic microangiopathy (n = 17; 22%), pediatric inflammatory diseases (n = 16; 21%), kidney diseases (n = 6; 8%), and hyperviscosity syndrome (n = 1; 1%). On average, each patient underwent six procedures during the first session [range: 1-19]. In the 2 weeks following the start of a session, 72 patients (92%) presented a total of 311 adverse events (AEs) potentially related to TPE. The risk of AEs was not related to the indication for TPE, the intensity of care, venous access, plasma substitute use, or body weight. None of the deaths was related to the TPE.
Conclusion
We studied one of the largest retrospective pediatric cohorts described to date. Our experience of TPE children's TPE feasibility concerned specific, life-threatening conditions and otherwise treatment-refractory diseases.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Raw data were generated at Institut Imagine via eCRF database (CleanWEB, Telemedicine Technologies Boulogne Billancourt, France; https://www.tentelemed.com/la-solution-cleanweb/?lang=en). Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request.
