Role of therapeutic plasma exchanges in refractory severe warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia: Presentation of two case reports.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (WAIHA) is a disorder with a usually good response to corticosteroid treatment, whereas in some cases first-line treatment's response is poor and other therapies such as intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs), rituximab, or splenectomy must be applied. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Herein, we describe two patients with severe WAIHA treated at our center, who obtained a response after therapeutic plasma exchanges (TPEs) combined with low doses of IVIG. RESULTS: The first patient was an 18-year-old man with no relevant past medical history who was diagnosed with WAIHA. The patient presented a progressive clinical worsening despite treatment with prednisone, IVIG, and rituximab. After starting TPEs, signs of hemolysis rapidly improved and hemoglobin started to recover. The second patient was a 38-year-old man with a past history of immune thrombocytopenia and WAIHA. The patient presented a new flare of WAIHA, with no response after 2 weeks of treatment with corticosteroids, IVIG, and rituximab. After initiation of TPEs, the patient had an improvement in hemolysis biomarkers and recovery of hemoglobin concentration. CONCLUSION: Combination of TPEs with rituximab and IVIG might be considered as a therapeutic option in patients with severe WAIHA without response to corticosteroid and IVIG treatment.