[Clinical experience of automated double filtration plasmapheresis]

Double filtration plasmapheresis, one kind of fractionation plasmapheresis, was developed from membrane type plasmapheresis to remove only the pathogen and return the normal protein back to the patient. We started our automated double filtration plasmapheresis since December 1993. There were 13 patients who received one hundred treatments totally during one year period. And they are myasthenia gravis (8 patients); acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (1 patient), multiple myeloma (1 patient); acquired factor VIII inhibitor (1 patient); autoimmune hemolytic anemia (1 patient); systemic lupus erythematous (1 patient). Technically double filtration plasmapheresis is easy to perform and time-saving. It also makes necessity of replacement fluid less frequent. Incidence of complication is rare, and this includes hypotension 2%, palpitation 1%, headache 1%, hemolysis 4%, air emboli 1%, high secondary pressure 2%, and no motality during our treatment. Clinical response is documented in cases of myasthenia gravis; acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and acquired factor VIII inhibitor in our study. In conclusion, double filtration plasmapheresis is a time-saving, convenient, and safe therapeutic modality with rare complication. Because its effectiveness on limited kinds of diseases and costs relatively high price, thus plasmapheresis should be used in selected cases and treat aggressively if indicated.