Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6114132 | Transfusion and Apheresis Science | 2014 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
The Puerto Rico (PR) Region of the American Red Cross (ARC) evaluated the therapeutic aphaeresis program and we conducted 1609 procedures in 30Â months between 2011 and 2013. The primary objective of the present review was to demonstrate our data and compare it to the reviewed medical evidence regarding the adequacy of applying therapeutic aphaeresis (TA) for chosen indications based on data in the literature. It was concluded that our service is very active and appropriate, and the number of TA's done varies and it's not steady year-by-year. The indications are the same as most common indicators across the World and the adverse reactions are too. We are the only ones doing apheresis in the pediatric population of PR. No deaths have been reported from our procedures. We understand that clinicians do not have enough knowledge about TA and tend to apply TA's in many cases as a last resort treatment for many diseases. Education at medical faculties and of hospital staff (nurses and medical technologists) about TA is very important. There is a need for symposia about this topic to the medical and general community.
Keywords
Related Topics
Health Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Hematology
Authors
Raúl H. Morales Borges, Gladys Colón Nieves, MarÃa RodrÃguez MartÃnez, Rosa Vargas Ramos, Linda I. Pedraza Otero, Carmen Nieves Vargas, Glorimar Ortiz Pedraza, Jairo J. Morales Jiménez,