Abstract
In these 5 years, we have treated 17 cases of sepsis in infants for a total of 43 times using exchange transfusion and 10 could survive. Being encouraged by this result and to eliminate the possibility of antibody formation against transfused platelet, the miniature system of plasmapheresis specific for infants has been developed and evaluated ex vivo. For plasma exchange (PE), 5 normal and 5 jaundiced rabbits were used for 2 hrs. Blood and plasma flow rates were 10ml/min and 1.7ml/min, respectively. Total plasma volume exchanged averaged 200ml. For plasma cross circulation (PCC), 5 pairs of normal big dog and jaundiced little dog were used. As to plasma separation, plasma flow rate was stable at 1.7ml/min for 2 hrs with transmembrane pressure less than 100mmHg. Sieving coefficients for total protein and albumin were more than 0.9 at 2 hrs. WBC decreased by 55-62% in PE and 11-35% in PCC at 30min, but returned to the initial values at 2 hrs. Percent reduction of total bilirubin exceeded 50%. This system is safe, biocompatible and efficient and clinical application for infants is being proposed.
