Hemorheologic findings in hyperviscosity syndrome and their modification by plasmapheresis

: A patient suffering from refractory immunocytoma was treated with therapeutical plasmapheresis. To estimate the hemorheological risk during and at the end of the therapy, hemorheological measurements were performed. Hematocrit, aggregation index, filtration index, plasma viscosity, colloid osmotic pressure and protein concentrations were analyzed. The efficiency of the plasmapheresis treatment is demonstrated by the reduction of the plasma viscosity from 5.5 to 2.3 mPa (57% reduction) and of the filtration index from 43.9 to 29.7 (32% reduction). The colloid osmotic pressure decreased from 3.4 to 2.5 kPa (26% reduction), plasma protein concentration from 106 to 86 g/l (19% reduction) and IgM concentration from 100 to 82 g/l (18% reduction), while the albumin concentration remained constant.