INCIDENCE OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC CHANGES DURING CYTAPHERESIS USING AN INTERMITTENT FLOW CENTRIFUGE, HEMONETICS V-50 AND A CONTINUOUS-FLOW CENTRIFUGE, AS104

Electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring was performed during cytapheresi s and the incidence of ECG changes was compared between methods of int ermittent flow centrifugation using the Haemonetics V50 with apheresis donors and continuous flow centrifugation with the AS104 for peripher al blood stem cell (PBSC) collection from patients. ST depression, inv erted T wave and other ECG changes were found in 49 (14.3%) of the 342 cytaphereses carried out by the intermittent flow centrifugation meth od and in 8 (4.7%) of the 169 PBSC collections by the continuous flow centrifugation method. This difference was significant (P < 0.05). The hemodynamic changes in the procedure with the AS104 seem to be small. This is considered to be important for prevention of serious ST and T wave changes. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.