Plasma-exchange in the treatment of severe thyrotoxicosis in pregnancy

Abstract

Three female patients with severe thyrotoxicosis, two of them pregnant 22 and 16 wk, respectively, were treated with plasma-exchange (PE) combined with anti-thyroid drugs. In both pregnant patients PE was an effective adjunct to therapy with low-dose carbimazol. They were both delivered of normal babies at 37 and 40 wk, respectively. One newborn was euthyroid, the other had transient neonatal thyrotoxicosis. In the non-pregnant patient an ominous situation of thyrotoxic crisis was rapidly reversed by a single PE. During PE an influx of thyroid hormones occurs from the extra- to the intravascular compartment, which increases the efficacy of PE. The 5% albumin solution derived from human donor plasma, used as replacement fluid, contained substantial amounts of thyroid hormones. A 5% albumin solution from human placental origin lacks these hormones and is therefore recommended as replacement fluid for PE in thyrotoxicosis. There are no valid arguments for advocating replacement with donor plasma.