Plasma exchange works for ANCA-associated vasculitis

Reuters Health -  04/03/2022 -Plasma exchange can be an effective treatment for anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis are commonly grouped together as AAV, Dr. Michael Walsh of St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Canada, and colleagues explain in The BMJ. "Although treatment with immunosuppression and glucocorticoids improve the outcomes of patients with AAV, they remain at high risk of death, end stage kidney disease (ESKD), and serious infections, particularly in the first year of treatment," they point out. Since the 1980s, plasma exchange has been used to treat some patients with AAV based on "biological rationale and small clinical trials," the researchers note. Plasma exchange removes circulating plasma constituents, including immunoglobulins such as ANCA, which may reduce damage incurred by AA...

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Posted on 4 March, 20226 April, 2022