[Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis: technical aspects and clinical applications].
OBJECTIVE
Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis is a selective red cell-depletion aphaeresis technique.


BACKGROUND
Using a discontinuous or continuous flow blood cell separator, the technique safely allows quickly and automatically collecting a large volume of red cells. The main obstacle of implementation is a poor peripheral venous access. The procedure is well-tolerated. Polycythemia vera, hereditary hemochromatosis, complicated sickle-cell-disease and retinal venous occlusion are the main clinical applications.


CONCLUSIONS
Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis is a more modern and more effective method than the classic patient-bleeding. It has to be preferred in the early treatment of patients with polycythemia vera and hereditary hemochromatosis.
Poullin
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P
Service d'hémaphérèse et d'autotransfusion, hôpital de la Conception, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France. pascale.poullin@ap-hm.fr
Lefèvre
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D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000628:therapy; D001781:Blood Component Removal; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011086:Polycythemia / Q000628:therapy; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000628:therapy