Hamishehkar Hadi, Beigmohammadi Mohammad Taghi, Abdollahi Mohammad, Mousavi Sarah, Ziaie Shadi, Sharifian Ramazan Ali, Davoudi Setareh, Mojtahedzadeh Mojtaba
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Transfus Apher Sci. 2013 Feb;48(1):75-8. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2012.07.011. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
Severe sepsis involves a generalized inflammatory response, mediated by a number of various cytokines and factors. Plasma exchange (PE) has been proposed as a therapeutic approach to improve survival of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. The theory is that removing harmful excessive endogenous inflammatory mediators is beneficial. Upon establishment of a diagnosis of severe sepsis, twelve patients received PE plus conventional sepsis treatment. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were assayed before and after each session of PE.
There were no significant changes in cytokine plasma levels after each PE session compared to pre-procedure levels. Among measured pro-inflammatory cytokines, only the plasma levels of IL-6 before the 2nd and 3rd PE sessions were lower than baseline levels (p=0.011 and p=0.012, respectively). All patients tolerated PE therapy well without any adverse effects or homodynamic instability. The results of this study showed that PE does not have a direct and rapid effect on plasma level of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6.
