Elevated procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as potential biomarkers of sepsis in a subpopulation of thrombotic microangiopathy patients.

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) comprises a group of microvascular thrombosis syndromes associated with multiple pathogenic factors. Deficient activity of ADAMTS13 is a pathogenic factor in a subset of TMA patients that provides a strong rationale for plasma exchange treatment. However, the subset of TMA patients with normal ADAMTS13 activity remains a heterogeneous group of patients in which the appropriate treatment is not well understood.

Improved peripheral blood stem cell collection following plasma exchange in a patient with elevated viscosity and coagulopathy.

We report a case of improved CD34+ cell yields from peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection following therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in a patient with elevated viscosity and coagulopathy. The patient was a 46-year-old male diagnosed with IgM lambda multiple myeloma that was largely unresponsive to standard chemotherapy. He had coagulopathy due to lymphoproliferative disease-associated acquired von Willebrand Factor (vWF) deficiency.