National register for plasma exchange—the French Society for hemapheresis. Results for 1985

In 1985, the French Society for Hemapheresis set up a national register for plasma exchange. Information was gathered by means of a retrospective questionnaire. The register entered 1130 patients and 9437 plasma exchange procedures. The most frequent treatment indications were neurologic conditions, vasculitis, and hematologic diseases. Cell separation technique was used in two thirds of the sessions, plasma-filtration in one third. Albumin as a replacement fluid was utilized alone or associated with other solutions in over 90% of cases. There were no complications in 60% of the patients. The most frequent complications were circulatory collapse, allergic manifestations, and febrile reactions. Five patients died of plasma exchange-related complications.