Volume 28, Issue 6 pp. 954-963
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Examination of drug removal profiles in patients undergoing therapeutic plasma exchange: A retrospective study

Ugur Balaban

Corresponding Author

Ugur Balaban

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Correspondence

Ugur Balaban, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

Email: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Emre Kara

Emre Kara

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Search for more papers by this author
Sherif Hanafy Mahmoud

Sherif Hanafy Mahmoud

Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Search for more papers by this author
Osman Ilhami Ozcebe

Osman Ilhami Ozcebe

Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Search for more papers by this author
Kutay Demirkan

Kutay Demirkan

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 15 July 2024

Abstract

Introduction

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) eliminates disease-contributing substances but may also affect drug concentrations. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of prescription drugs removable via TPE by reviewing patient medication histories.

Methods

A retrospective, single-center study was conducted from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. The study included 244 patients undergoing 1087 TPE sessions. Drugs prescribed to patients on TPE days were categorized as “yes” (probably removable), “maybe” (possibly removable), and “no” (unlikely removable) regarding their removability via TPE.

Results

Among 3966 prescriptions, 556 (14.0%) were analyzed, with 21.8%, 36.5%, and 41.7% falling into the “yes,” “maybe,” and “no” categories for removability. Although only 14.0% were categorized, 83.6% of patients received at least one analyzable drug. Among them, 83.8% had at least one potentially removable drug.

Conclusion

Real-world data highlights the need for caution in drug treatments during TPE to ensure optimal therapeutic outcomes, particularly for specific drugs.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.