Application of therapeutic plasma exchange in dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia |
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| Authors: | Lucy Kopecny Carrie A Palm Sean Naylor John Kirby Larry D Cowgill |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA;2. William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA |
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| 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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| Keywords: | apheresis autoimmune canine platelet |
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