Comparison of fresh frozen plasma with a standardized serum protein solution following therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with autoimmune disease: a prospective controlled clinical trial

Establishment of an adverse effect prevention protocol on plasma exchange using fresh frozen plasma prior to ABO-incompatible living donor kidney transplantation at our hospital

INTRODUCTION

Simple plasma exchange (PE) with fresh-frozen plasma replacement allows antibody removal for ABO-incompatible living donor kidney transplantation, but is associated with a high incidence of allergic reactions. We developed, implemented, and evaluated a protocol for safe preoperative PE.

METHODS

The protocol comprised pretreatment (125 mg methylprednisolone infusion, 400 mg acetaminophen and 30 mg diphenhydramine orally) with a replacement fluid rate < 20 mL/min. Allergic reaction incidence was investigated in controls who underwent ABO-incompatible living donor kidney transplantation between 2016 and March 2020 (group C) and patients who underwent the protocol and procedure between April 2020 and February 2023 (group N).

RESULTS

Ten (group C) and 19 (group N) patients performed 11 and 30 sessions of PE, respectively. Allergic reactions occurred in 81.8% and 36.7% (p = 0.014), respectively, with an odds ratio of the protocol was 0.056 (95% CI 0.0059-0.5380, P = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

Our protocol resulted in a significantly lower incidence of allergic reactions.

Assessing efficacy and safety of replacement fluids in therapeutic plasma exchange: A systematic scoping review of outcome measures used

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this systematic scoping review is to identify and categorize the outcome measures that have been reported in clinical studies, where therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been used as an intervention in any clinical settings, excluding thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).

METHODS

We searched electronic databases using a predefined search strategy from inception to October 9, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data.

RESULTS

We included 42 studies (37 RCTs and 5 prospective cohort studies) grouped into six main categories (neurology, immunology, renal, rheumatology, hematology, and dermatology). Primary outcomes were defined in eight studies (19%, 8/42) and were categorized as efficacy (five studies) or patient reported outcomes (three studies). A power calculation was reported in six studies (75%, 6/8): five neurology studies (mainly patient reported outcomes) and a single immunological study (efficacy outcome). Disease-specific efficacy outcomes were dependent on the clinical setting of the population receiving TPE. Most of the trials (43%, 18/42) were undertaken in patients with neurology conditions where clear, disease-specific, clinical outcome measures were used, including neurological disability scales (11/18, 61%), change in neurological examination (9/18, 50%), and functional improvement scores (7/18, 39%). For other conditions, the reporting of disease-specific outcomes was poorly reported. Safety outcomes were mainly related to replacement fluid type rather than being disease-specific. The most common outcome reported was hypotension (19%, 8/42), and this was primarily in patients exchanged with albumin.

CONCLUSION

Future clinical studies to determine which fluid replacement option is most efficacious and safe should use disease-specific outcomes, as a trial in one therapeutic area may not necessarily translate to another therapeutic area. Patient reported outcomes are not universally reported for all disease areas. Safety measures focused primarily on fluid safety.

Albumin-binding capacity (ABiC) is reduced in patients with chronic kidney disease along with an accumulation of protein-bound uraemic toxins

BACKGROUND

Albumin is an important transport protein for non-water-soluble protein-bound drugs and uraemic toxins. Its transport capacity is reduced in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and unbound fractions of uraemic toxins are related to complications of CKD. We investigated whether this reduction could be quantified and how it correlated with the stages of CKD. Albumin-binding capacity (ABiC) is a dye-based method that quantifies the remaining binding capacity of one major binding site (site II) of the albumin molecule.

METHODS

Blood samples from 104 CKD patients were incubated with a binding site-specific fluorescent marker and the amount of unbound marker was determined by means of fluorescence detection after filtration. Measurements in a pooled human plasma were used for reference. Glomerular filtration rate and serum indoxyl sulphate (IS) levels were also determined.

RESULTS

Impairment of renal function was associated with a reduction in ABiC (mean ± SD: 118 ± 12; 111 ± 11; 99 ± 8 and 79 ± 9% for Stages 1/2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively; P < 0.001) and an increase in IS (3.9 ± 1.1; 6.2 ± 3.2; 16.3 ± 14.9 and 56.1 ± 28.6 μmol/L for Stages 1/2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively; P < 0.001). In dialysis patients, ABiC was lower in those with urine outputs <500 mL/day than in those with preserved urine output (73.7 ± 6.0 versus 83.8 ± 8.5%; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Impaired albumin function in CKD patients can be quantified, is related to severity of kidney disease and is associated with an accumulation of uraemic albumin-bound retention solutes.

Perioperative Application of a Serum Protein Solution (Biseko(®)) After Proximal Femur Fracture of Elder Patients

Fractures of the proximal femur are frequently seen in elderly people and will increase due to the demographic development of most industrialized countries. Early operation of dislocated fractures with either osteosynthesis or hemiprothesis has become a standard treatment for this type of injury. The high co-morbidity often leads to secondary complications like infections still resulting in a perioperative mortality rate of 11%. The perioperative infusion regime might influence the postoperative inflammatory response. Therefore Biseko(®), a serum protein solution, was compared to albumin and crystalloid infusion (Elomel). A total of 45 patients with proximal femur fractures were randomly assigned to either of the groups and received 500 ml of the infusion on 3 days starting from the day of operation. The Biseko(®) group showed significantly lower CRP levels, less infections and antibiotic treatment as well as a better clinical outcome referring to the TISS28 and APACHE Score. Concerning IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and serum leukocytes no significant differences were observed. The result shows a beneficial influence of the serum protein solution Biseko(®) concerning the number of perioperative complications. The design of this study and the small number of patients does not yet allow any conclusion concerning the effectiveness of this treatment.

Albumin-binding function is reduced in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and correlates inversely with severity of liver disease assessed by model for end-stage liver disease

BACKGROUND

Human serum albumin has multiple functions, the most important being maintaining colloid osmotic pressure, ligand binding and transport. In liver failure, an impaired binding of endogenous substances and drugs can be observed. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of liver disease and an impaired albumin binding.

METHODS

In 44 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, Child-Turcotte-Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease scores were assessed and the site II-specific albumin-binding function (albumin-binding capacity) was characterized. Briefly, the unbound amount of diazepam site ligand Dansylsarcosine in a sample was determined and compared with the unbound amount in a reference albumin solution (=100%).

RESULTS

Thirty-two out of 44 of the patients presented with Child-Turcotte-Pugh class C, the median Child-Turcotte-Pugh score was 10 [6-13 (min-max)], median model for end-stage liver disease score was 21 (8-40) and the median albumin-binding capacity was 63 (24-91)% compared with healthy controls 98 (95-106)% (P<0.001). Albumin-binding capacity was found to be strongly correlated to model for end-stage liver disease (r=0.783; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

An impaired albumin-binding function of a site II-specific marker in decompensated liver cirrhosis was found to be correlated to the severity of the liver disease.

Is fresh frozen plasma clinically effective? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Summary Randomized controlled trials of good quality are a recognized means to robustly assess the efficacy of interventions in clinical practice. A systematic identification and appraisal of all randomized trials involving fresh frozen plasma (FFP) has been undertaken in parallel to the drafting of the updated British Committee for Standards in Haematology guidelines on the use of FFP. A total of 57 trials met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Most clinical uses of FFP, currently recommended by practice guidelines, are not supported by evidence from randomized trials. In particular, there is little evidence for the effectiveness of the prophylactic use of FFP. Many published trials on the use of FFP have enrolled small numbers of patients, and provided inadequate information on the ability of the trial to detect meaningful differences in outcomes between the two patient groups. Other concerns about the design of the trials include the dose of FFP used, and the potential for bias. No studies have taken adequate account of the extent to which adverse effects might negate the clinical benefits of treatment with FFP. There is a need to consider how best to develop new trials to determine the efficacy of FFP in different clinical scenarios to provide the evidence base to support national guidelines for transfusion practice. Trials of modified FFP (e.g. pathogen inactivated) are of questionable value when there is little evidence that the standard product is an effective treatment.

Antibody reactivity of a standardized human serum protein solution against a spectrum of microbial pathogens and toxins: comparison with fresh frozen plasma

In this study, we compared a standardized solution of human serum protein (HSP) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) with regard to the antibody specificity against a number of microbial pathogens and some important pathogenicity factors of bacterial pathogens. Due to the clinical use of HSP and FFP for therapeutical plasma exchange, we have chosen a spectrum of microbial pathogens for serological analysis that is critical in clinical settings. With the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, we could show that HSP contains marked IgG antibody reactivity against antigens of Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterobacter sakazakii, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Candida albicans. Although no IgM antibodies against the pathogens tested could be detected in HSP, moderate IgA reactivity was found against 4 of 12 microbial antigens. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated specific IgA and IgG responses against the endoproteinase Glu-C and the superantigens enterotoxin A and B of S. aureus, the IgA-protease of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Shiga toxin 2 of enterohemorrhagic E. coli. By using 3 different HSP batches in parallel, we could demonstrate antibody reactivity against important microbial pathogens and toxins. This antibody profile is essentially more homogeneous than that of 3 batches of FFP.