Extracorporeal Immunoadsorption for the Treatment of Coagulation Inhibitors

Extracorporeal immunoadsorption is a widely used technique for the removal of pathogenic antibodies in a variety of immunologic disorders. This procedure has been used in patients with high-titer inhibitors against coagulation factors for the temporary removal of antibodies before initiating replacement therapy to achieve hemostasis and stop acute bleeding or to cover a surgical procedure. Inhibitor removal by immunoadsorption has also been included at the onset of immune tolerance protocols in both acquired and congenital hemophilia. This article summarizes the current knowledge on the use of this technique in patients with inhibitors against coagulation factors. Overall, the published literature documents that extracorporeal immunoadsorption is a safe and useful technique for the elimination of coagulation inhibitors. However, further randomized clinical trials are needed to better assess the cost-effectiveness of such procedures.