Introduction: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is the first-line treatment for TTP. In our institution, albumin plus plasma (fresh frozen plasma [FFP] and/or cryoprecipitate-reduced plasma [CRP]) has been used as replacement fluid since 2014. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of albumin combined with plasma as TPE for TTP.
Material and methods: We retrospectively evaluated 20 patients admitted to our institution due to an acute episode of TTP between January 1, 2014 and February 1, 2019. They were divided into two groups according to the replacement fluid protocols: (a) albumin plus FFP (1:1) and (b) albumin plus mixed plasma [ie, albumin and FFP with CRP (2:1:1)] groups. Data on patient characteristics, replacement parameters, outcome, and hemorrhage risk were collected and analyzed.
Results: There were no significant differences in treatment outcomes between the two groups (P > .05). However, the albumin plus mixed plasma group tended to require fewer plasma exchanges (median, 4) and shorter time to response (median, 15 days) compared to albumin plus FFP group (median, 6; 31 days). Although the cumulative survival of the albumin plus mixed plasma group was higher than the other group starting from day 23 after treatment, we did not observe significant difference (P = .50). No significant increase in the risk for hemorrhage was observed in either group.
Conclusions: The therapeutic efficacy of albumin and mixed plasma (2:1:1) is not inferior to that of albumin and FFP (1:1), and it can be used in treating TTP.
Keywords: cryoprecipitate-reduced plasma; fresh frozen plasma; safety; survival; thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.
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