Increasing use of therapeutic apheresis as a liver-saving modality

IntroductionTherapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is used for temporary support of liver function in patients presenting with early graft dysfunction after liver transplantation (LT) or liver surgery. We analyzed the effect of therapeutic apheresis on patients with liver disease.MethodsBetween January 2011 and August 2016, 93 apheresis procedures were performed for 26 patients at our institution. Anti-ABO isoagglutination immunoglobulin (Ig) M titer was checked using a type A and type B 3% red blood cell (RBC) suspension in saline with two-fold serial dilutions of patient serum. Anti-ABO isoagglutination IgG titer was checked by a type A and B 0.8% RBC suspension using a low-ionic strength/Coombs card.ResultsABO-incompatible (ABOi) LT was the most common (n = 10, 38.5%) indication for apheresis; early graft dysfunction after LT (n = 8, 30.7%) was the second most common. Median initial IgM and IgG anti-ABO titers for ABOi LT recipients were 1:16 (range, 1:8-1:128) and 1:48 (range, 1:8-1:2048). We performed preoperative TPE in 10 recipients (median number of sessions, 1.5; range, 1-11). Among patients with early graft dysfunction, those who underwent living donor LT had better survival (4/4; 100%) than those who underwent nonliving donor LT (0/3; 0%). Patients who underwent living donor LT first and then additional LT also survived after three TPE sessions.ConclusionTherapeutic apheresis is associated with a good survival rate and is essential for liver support in patients with early graft dysfunction after LT or posthepatectomy liver failure and during preparation for ABOi LT.