Complications of therapeutic plasma exchange: A retrospective, single-center study of 2505 procedures performed in 338 patients over 15 years.

Introduction: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) may involve complications. We aimed to review the demographic data, indications, technical information, and complications.

Methods: Data for TPE procedures (TPEPs) performed between 2004 and 2018 were retrospectively.

Results: This study covered 2505 TPEPs performed on 338 patients; 55% of them were female (n = 186), and the median age was 36 years (range, 11-93 years). Most TPEPs were administered for hematological (40.6%) indications. The incidence of complications on the first procedure was 3.2% (n = 80); only 16 procedures (0.6%) were failed. The complication incidence was 19.8% (n = 497), with 789 total complications. Most of the complications were patient-related (90.4%), and the most of them were urticaria (29.1%), occlusion (3.2%), and faulty systems (1.01%), respectively. The use of only fresh frozen plasma as replacement fluid caused a higher complication rate (22.1%, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The number of TPEPs is increasing every day. Hematologic indications for TPE and the use of fresh frozen plasma may increase the risk of complications.