Apheresis and COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that first emerged in China in late 2019 and quickly spread worldwide, prompting the World Health Organization to declare it a pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many promising treatment options were tested due to high mortality rates in critically ill patients. Apheresis services also provided options to achieve the best outcomes for these patients. In the early phase of the pandemic, convalescent plasma therapy was the most discussed apheresis treatment, but it fell out of focus after the introduction of the vaccine. However, other methods of therapeutic apheresis are currently available and remain important. These include therapeutic plasma exchange, immunoadsorption, and selective C-reactive protein apheresis. All of these methods primarily aim to eliminate inflammatory mediators during the cytokine storm, potentially preventing organ damage and improving survival. There is no absolute contraindication to apheresis in COVID-19 patients, and different apheresis modalities should always be considered in selected cases when appropriate.