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Comparison of filtration to continuous‐flow centrifugation for plasma exchange
Author(s) -
Wood Lucille,
Bond Rodney,
Jacobs Peter
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of clinical apheresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.697
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1098-1101
pISSN - 0733-2459
DOI - 10.1002/jca.2920020203
Subject(s) - centrifugation , separator (oil production) , filtration (mathematics) , chromatography , medicine , biomedical engineering , chemistry , statistics , physics , mathematics , thermodynamics
The Asahi Plasmaflo Hollow Nylon Fibre Filtration System (n = 13) was directly compared to the NCI‐IBM 2990 Continuous‐Flow Blood Fraction Separator (n = 10) for plasma exchange. The systems were equally efficient in achieving plasma separation. There were significant differences favouring filtration for clearance of fibrinogen (P < 0.05), and the fourth component of complement (P < 0.01). Greater loss of urea (P < 0.05) was found after plasma exchange, using the cell separator. The flow characteristics were markedly different. In a standardised 4‐L plasma exchange, filtration took place at 35 ml/minute, with a procedure time of 109 ± 45 minutes in contrast to centrifugation at a plasma flow collection rate of 19 ml/minute, requiring 208 ± 17 minutes. This time advantage for the former procedure was offset by 195 minutes required to regenerate the hollow nylon fibre unit and a further 90 minutes required for cleaning under strictly controlled aseptic techniques prior to reuse. Each filter was regenerated at least twice and reused without infection, but there was incremental loss of filtration efficiency demonstrated by decreasing clearance of an intravascular marker dye. In two of the 13 procedures using the Plasmaflo system, serious reactions necessitated termination of the procedure; this did not occur using the cell separator. Restriction of the number of times that the filter unit could be regenerated without loss of efficiency, the prolonged time required for regeneration and cleaning, coupled with the need for artifical vascular access to meet high blood flow rates required, limit the usefulness of this technique for plasma exchange.