Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Therapeutic plasma exchange for dogs with immune low platelets
By Kopecny, Lucy et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Department of Veterinary Medicine and Epidemiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Application of therapeutic plasma exchange in dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (a condition where the immune system attacks platelets, leading to severe bleeding) were treated with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) after they didn't respond to standard treatments. These dogs had significant bleeding and required blood transfusions. They underwent three sessions of TPE, which helped improve their bleeding symptoms and increased their platelet counts when combined with immunosuppressive medications. Unfortunately, one dog did not survive due to ongoing severe symptoms. Overall, TPE appears to be a safe and potentially helpful option for dogs with severe cases of this condition.
People also search for: dog immune-mediated thrombocytopenia treatment · dog bleeding problems · therapeutic plasma exchange for dogs
Abstract
Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an emerging treatment for dogs with immune-mediated diseases, but reports for treatment of immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (IMT) are lacking. These case reports illustrate the application of centrifugal TPE in 4 dogs with IMT. All dogs presented with severe hemorrhage requiring ≥1 blood transfusions, were unresponsive to conventional treatment or both. Dogs were treated with 3 sequential centrifugal TPE sessions, totaling 4.0 to 4.9 total plasma volumes exchanged per dog. In 3 dogs, TPE was associated with improvement in clinical manifestations of bleeding and platelet count in combination with immunosuppressive drugs. One dog was euthanized after 3 treatments because of persistent severe thrombocytopenia and hemorrhage. Preliminary observations indicate that TPE is safe and may be a useful adjunct in the management of IMT that is severe or refractory to traditional treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32557826/