EFFECTS ON COMPLEMENT, GRANULOCYTES AND PLATELETS OF A LEUKOCYTE-DEPLETION FILTER DURING IN-VITRO EXTRACORPOREAL-CIRCULATION

In an in vitro study, extracorporeal circuits equipped with either a l eukocyte-depleting filter (n = 5) or a standard arterial-line filter ( n = 5) were perfused for 120 minutes with fresh human whole blood. Leu kocyte activation, leukocyte and platelet counts and complement activa tion were studied. Significant reduction of leukocyte and platelet cou nts and significant activation of leukocytes and of platelets were fou nd in both groups, but without significant intergroup difference for a ny parameter after 120 minutes of perfusion. The leukocyte-depleting f ilters, however, were somewhat more effective in removing leukocytes d uring the initial 30 minutes of circulation.