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Plasma therapy was given to a patient for acute liver failure treatment at Ganga Ram Hospital. The decision was taken after his family failed to find a matching donor.
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He was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of jaundice, altered consciousness due to ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), and an acute kidney injury.
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Later, the doctors investigated that he had hepatitis B virus positivity and chronic liver failure.
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They offered dialysis until the date the liver transplant donor was found. This option had a one-month survival probability for the patient.
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Since no matching donor in the family was found, the doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital had a unique treatment option: plasma therapy.
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"We offered an unusual option of plasma exchange (PLEX) because we found no donor in the family," says Dr Piyush Ranjan, senior consultant at the Department of Gastroenterology.
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The patient underwent 5 sessions of plasma therapy (PLEX). After 2 sessions, he showed improvement in jaundice, renal functions, and consciousness. Later, he was given antiviral therapy.
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The patient was discharged after 20 days of hospitalisation and is showing continuous improvement in health. His ascites have resolved, and jaundice is normalized.
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Plasmapheresis and plasma therapy are increasingly being used as a bridge to liver transplantation. In this case, PLEX acted as support for liver failure.
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Like hemodialysis, PLEX involves removing blood from the patient, where its cellular components (RBCs, WBCs, and platelets) are separated from the plasma with a centrifugal technique. Hereafter, fresh plasma (FFP) and albumin are mixed with the cellular component after discarding the plasma and returned back to the patient.
Source- ET Healthworld
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