Treatment of systemic inflammatory response syndrome by push-pull powdered sorbent pheresis: a Phase 1 clinical trial

An FDA-approved Phase 1 feasibility study was performed in two centers to determine the safety of the BioLogic-DTPF (detoxifier/plasma filter) system for the treatment of patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). This device combines hemodiabsorption (dialysis of blood against powdered sorbents with the BioLogic-DT system) with push-pull sorbent-based pheresis (the PF add-on module). Eight adult ICU patients with both SIRS and multiple organ failure participated in the study. One 6 h treatment was planned for each patient with powdered charcoal as sorbent for 4 patients and a combination of charcoal/silica in the PF sorbent bag for 4 patients. The treatments appeared to have no negative effects in 7 patients, but 1 patient died during treatment due to progressive cardiac failure. Sepsis was resolved in 5 of the 8 patients. However, there were only 2 long-term survivors of the group. The addition of the PF module should improve the chemical function of the BioLogic-DT by allowing removal of protein-bound toxins such as cytokines. The selected patients tolerated treatment by the DTPF system well, but proof of benefit of the device remains to be proven in a Phase 2 clinical trial with randomized controls.