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Extracorporeal membrane differential filtration — a new and safe method to optimize hemorheology in acute ischemic stroke
Author(s) -
Berrouschot J.,
Barthel H.,
Scheel C.,
Köster J.,
Schneider D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1998.tb00621.x
Subject(s) - hemorheology , medicine , hematocrit , stroke (engine) , fibrinogen , filtration (mathematics) , blood viscosity , anesthesia , surgery , cardiology , mechanical engineering , statistics , mathematics , engineering
Objective – Can extracorporeal membrane differential filtration be used on patients with acute stroke to optimize their hemorheology without reducing the number of oxygen carriers (erythrocytes) – and is this form of treatment safe? Subjects and methods – In a prospective pilot study, 10 patients (67±4 years) suffering severe middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke were treated with membrane differential filtration, which was first performed within 12 h following the onset of symptoms and repeated three times at intervals of 24 h. Hemorheological parameters were measured before and after each treatment session. Results – Extracorporeal membrane differential filtration treatment immediately led to a significant and sustained drop in all hemorheological parameters (fibrinogen by 54%, α 2 ‐macroglobulin by 76%, total cholesterol by 65%, LDL by 82%, and HDL by 38%). Plasma viscosity dropped from 1.3 to 1.1 mPa s, erythrocyte aggregation by 57%. By contrast, hematocrit and the erythrocyte count remained constant. Treatment had no side‐effects. Conclusions – Extracorporeal membrane differential filtration is a safe method to optimize hemorheology in patients with acute ischemic stroke.