SCHETZ , Miet

The World Health Organization defines overweight and obesity as the condition where excess or abnormal fat accumulation increases risks to health. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and is around 20% in ICU patients. Adipose tissue is highly metabolically active, and especially visceral adipose tissue has a deleterious adipocyte...

In this narrative review, we discuss the relevant issues of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in critically ill patients. For many conditions, the optimal indication, device type, frequency, duration, type of replacement fluid and criteria for stopping TPE are uncertain. TPE is a potentially lifesaving but also invasive procedure with risk of...