Individualized scheme of immunoadsorption for the recurrence of idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in the graft: a single center experience

OBJECTIVES

To explore the role of immunoadsorption (IA) for the treatment of idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) recurrence in the renal allograft, if applied in a personalized manner.

METHODS

We studied patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) due to idiopathic FSGS, transplanted between 2001 and 2010. Patients with FSGS recurrence were treated with daily sessions of IA for the first week, followed by an every other day scheme and then individualized tapering until discontinuation. Complete remission was defined as a reduction of 24-h proteinuria to ≤ 0.5 g/day and partial remission as a reduction of 24-h proteinuria to 50% or more from baseline.

RESULTS

Of the 18 renal transplant recipients with ESRD due to idiopathic FSGS, 12 (66.7%) experienced disease recurrence in a mean time of 0.75 months post-transplantation (KTx), with a mean proteinuria of 8.9 g/day at the time of recurrence. The mean recipient age was 30.8 years; the mean donor age was 47.4 years, while living related donors provided the allograft in seven cases. Four of the patients received therapy with rituximab in addition to IA. During a mean time of follow-up of 48.3 months, seven patients (58.3%) achieved complete remission, and five (41.7%) partial remission. At the end of follow-up, eight patients (66.7%) had functioning grafts, being in sustained remission, in contrast to four patients (33.3%), who ended up in ESRD because of FSGS recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

IA was shown efficacious in a small series of patients with recurrent FSGS in the graft. Renal function remained stable in eight of the 12 patients with FSGS recurrence.

Plasmapheresis in the management of severe hypertriglyceridemia

Plasmapheresis can benefit a variety of critically ill patients. A woman with diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypertriglyceridemia was treated with plasmapheresis when conventional treatments did not markedly reduce her triglyceridemia. The patient was admitted to a medical intensive care unit because of diabetic ketoacidosis with severe lipemia. The lipemia-associated interference in laboratory studies made treatment of electrolyte abnormalities extremely difficult. The hypertriglyceridemia was initially treated with insulin, antilipidemic medications, and heparin, but the levels of triglycerides remained elevated, delaying results of needed laboratory studies for hours. After plasmapheresis, the serum level of triglycerides decreased by 77% in less than 24 hours. Severe lipemia interferes with photometric laboratory studies, yielding an underestimation of serum levels of electrolytes. Plasmapheresis is safe, rapid, and effective for emergent management of severe hypertriglyceridemia in critically ill patients. The impact of the procedure on critical care nursing is growing as nurses become involved in the treatment and follow-up care of patients who have plasmapheresis.

The roles of transition metals in the physiology and pathogenesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae

For bacterial pathogens whose sole environmental reservoir is the human host, the acquisition of essential nutrients, particularly transition metals, is a critical aspect of survival due to tight sequestration and limitation strategies deployed to curtail pathogen outgrowth. As such, these bacteria have developed diverse, specialized acquisition mechanisms to obtain these metals from the niches of the body in which they reside. To oppose the spread of infection, the human host has evolved multiple mechanisms to counter bacterial invasion, including sequestering essential metals away from bacteria and exposing bacteria to lethal concentrations of metals. Hence, to maintain homeostasis within the host, pathogens must be able to acquire necessary metals from host proteins and to export such metals when concentrations become detrimental. Furthermore, this acquisition and efflux equilibrium must occur in a tissue-specific manner because the concentration of metals varies greatly within the various microenvironments of the human body. In this review, we examine the functional roles of the metal import and export systems of the Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae in both signaling and pathogenesis.

The selective therapeutic apheresis procedures

Selective apheresis procedures have been developed to target specific molecules, antibodies, or cellular elements in a variety of diseases. The advantage of the selective apheresis procedures over conventional therapeutic plasmapheresis is preservation of other essential plasma components such as albumin, immunoglobulins, and clotting factors. These procedures are more commonly employed in Europe and Japan, and few are available in the USA. Apheresis procedures discussed in this review include the various technologies available for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis, double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP), cryofiltration, immunoadsorption procedures, adsorption resins that process plasma, extracorporeal photopheresis, and leukocyte apheresis.

Current topics in therapeutic plasmapheresis

Therapeutic plasmapheresis has been used for intractable diseases that cannot be cured by conventional drug therapy. Currently, the use of therapeutic plasmapheresis has been approved for 27 diseases by Japan's National Health Insurance system and is mainly categorized into three modalities: plasma exchange (PE), double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP), and plasma adsorption (PA). Plasma separators and/or fractionators are essential for the therapy. PE is performed for two purposes: removal of pathogenic antigens or substances in the plasma fraction and supplementation of essential factors, such as albumin and coagulation factors. PE can be used for thrombotic microangiopathy and acute hepatic failure. DFPP can be performed for selective removal of macromolecules while avoiding the use of substitution fluid (i.e., albumin or fresh frozen plasma). DFPP has now been used for conditions involving relatively larger plasma molecules, including hyperviscosity syndrome and ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation. PA can specifically remove pathogenic agents, such as low-density lipoprotein or autoantibodies, in the IgG fractions by the adsorption column and does not require substitution fluids. PA has now been used for a wide variety of neurological diseases, including chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. This review describes the characteristics of each modality, seeking to improve the efficacy and specificity of removal of the target substance.

Medications in patients treated with therapeutic plasma exchange: prescription dosage, timing, and drug overdose

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an extracorporeal process commonly used in clinical medicine for the treatment of a variety of neurological, renal, hematological, dermatological, and other diseases. Inherent to the procedure, patients' plasma removal may lead to the extraction of drugs they are concurrently receiving. This review discusses the published literature assessing TPE's influence on different drug classes' disposition and, when applicable, sets forth management recommendations in cases where the drugs are used at the usual doses and in cases of drug overdose.

Therapeutic apheresis in critically ill patients

Therapeutic apheresis procedures in critically ill patients comprises of therapeutic plasma exchange in most cases but also less commonly, erythrocytapheresis (red cell exchange), thrombocytapheresis, or leukocytapheresis. These procedures present a number of challenges to the apheresis healthcare team, and there are myriad beneficial and adverse effects for patients. In this patient population, one has to weigh the risks against the benefits and especially in those situations where apheresis is requested as a treatment when other alternative therapies have failed. Therapeutic plasma exchange is capable of removing toxins, pathologic auto- and allo-antibodies but will also remove beneficial medications, clotting factors and cations which are chelated by citrate anticoagulant. Herein, we review clinically significant issues that are commonly encountered in patients that are in the intensive care unit and have conditions that require therapeutic apheresis.