Veterinarians Share Blood Purification Techniques with Human Medicine Colleagues

Veterinarians Share Blood Purification Techniques with Human Medicine Colleagues

February 28, 2017

Drs. Larry Cowgill and Sheri Ross from the UC Veterinary Medical Center - San Diego (UCVMC-SD) were highlighted this past week at the UC San Diego School of Medicine’s 5th Annual Essentials and Advances in Apheresis Therapies program in San Diego. With the help of Jhun Marquez, an apheresis nurse at UC San Diego, the trio used some “tricks” developed at UC Davis to provide a live visual demonstration of the principles and benefits of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and plasma adsorption in a simulated canine patient. The demonstration was provided to an international audience of 160 physicians, nurses, trainees, and industry representatives and illustrated the kinetics of the removal of pathologic substances (antibodies, toxins) from the blood of human or animal patients. 

 

5th Annual Essentials and Advances in Apheresis Therapies

 

A follow up demonstration illustrated the complete removal of a simulated pathologic substance (purple dye) from flowing plasma (separated from the cells by the apheresis machine) by an adsorbent column simulating the treatment of a poisoning or the selective removal of pathologic chemicals in the blood that have been induced by a disease process.

5th Annual Essentials and Advances in Apheresis Therapies

 

The demonstrations documented the clinical benefits provided by Therapeutic Apheresis Medicine available at the UCVMC-SD for the management of immune-mediated diseases (see success story), exogenous poisoning, and a variety of other disease indications.

 

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