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Treatment outcome and efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange for transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy in a large real-world cohort study

Abstract

The efficacy and outcome of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) remain controversial. We therefore sought to evaluate the outcome and efficacy of TPE in patients with TA-TMA and to identify TA-TMA patients who would benefit from TPE management. Eighty-two patients with TA-TMA were treated with TPE. We reported a response rate of 52% and overall survival rates of 20% and 15% at 100 days and 1 year after TA-TMA, respectively, in TPE-treated patients, with a significantly lower survival in gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding patients (5% vs. 41% in non-GI bleeding patients, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with GI bleeding, grade III-IV aGVHD, severe anemia, and a lower cumulative volume of TPE were less likely to respond to TPE. GI bleeding, a lower initial volume of TPE, and elevated total bilirubin were independently associated with 100-day mortality. The leading causes of death were infection, active TA-TMA, and MODS. The results of this large cohort of real-world practice indicate that the efficacy and outcome of TPE for TA-TMA patients without GI bleeding are encouraging, and a higher volume of TPE is warranted to achieve favorable outcomes.

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Fig. 1: Overall survival in TA-TMA patients treated with TPE.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFA0105503), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81970113, 81800116), Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81730004), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. H2018206423), and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission (No. Z171100001017084). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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L-PY and X-HZ contributed to the concept and design. L-PY, PZ, Y-JW, H-XF, YH, X-DM, ML, F-RW, C-HY, and Y-HC collected the data. L-PY, PZ, and Y-JW contributed to the data analysis and interpretation. Y-JC, L-PX, K-YL, X-JH revised the manuscript critically. L-PY wrote the manuscript. X-HZ designed, conceived and supervised the study, analyzed the data, and drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors critically reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiao-Hui Zhang.

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The study protocol was approved by the central institutional review board of the Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China.

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Yang, LP., Zhao, P., Wu, YJ. et al. Treatment outcome and efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange for transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy in a large real-world cohort study. Bone Marrow Transplant 57, 554–561 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01581-1

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