Outcome of collagen vascular diseases by treatment with plasmapheresis.

The outcome of collagen vascular diseases after treatment with plasmapheresis was studied in 9 patients with polyarteritis nodosa (PN), in 2 patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), in 1 patient with allergic granulomatous angitis (AGA), and in 20 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Improvement after treatment with plasmapheresis was observed in 41.7% of the patients with PN, WG, and AGA. On the other hand, with the exception of 1 patient with thrombocytopenia and 1 patient with renal failure, all of the clinical manifestations, including thrombocytopenia, central nervous system (CNS) lupus, thrombophlebitis, lung infarction, and recurrent abortions in the SLE patients with APS, improved after plasmapheresis. Plasmapheresis is thought to be an influential strategy of treatment for patients with collagen vascular diseases.