[Complications with plasma exchange].

The value of plasma exchange in the treatment of Guillain-Barré syndrome is well established, but in Japan patients often receive double-filtration plasmapheresis or immunoadsorption therapy. In this study, we examined the frequency of complications with plasma exchange. The complications occurred in 55 of 197 sessions (28%) during plasma exchange. The most frequent complication was transient symptomatic hypotension (16%). There were fever (10%), nausea or vomiting (7%), chill (5%), headache (5%), tachycardia (2%) and thromboembolism (2%). No significant bleeding was seen in any of the patients. In this study, we clarified that the frequency of the complications tended to increase with the aging.