Plasmapheresis as part of the treatment for septic shock

Plasmapheresis is one of the methods which has been tried in the effort to influence the course of severe sepsis with septic shock and to improve surv ival rates. This is a retrospective study of 17 consecutive patients with s eptic shock who were treated with acute plasmapheresis. Nine out of 16 pati ents with verified etiology suffered from infections with Gram-positive bac teria. Three (18%) of the treated patients died. The estimated mortality ra te based on the patients' initial APACHE II scores was 62%. No serious side -effects of treatment were observed. This study indicates that plasmapheres is is a safe treatment for patients with septic shock and has a positive ef fect on survival. Prospective, randomized studies would be valuable to dete rmine the role of plasmapheresis in the management of patients with septic shock.