Biocompatibility of cuprophan and cellulose acetate membranes. Prevention of dialysis hypoxemia and leucopenia by ticlopidine.

The study is a comparison of 4 successive hemodialysis (HD) sessions on each patient, 2 with cuprophan (CU) membrane (Gambro 120 M) and 2 with Cellulose acetate (CA) (Cordis Dow 3500). 60 minutes prior to the HD session placebo or Ticlopidine (500 mg) was administered orally to each patient. Leucocyte and platelet counts, serum C3 complement, arterial PO2, PCO2 and PH were measured before and 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes after the beginning of HD. Leucocyte count fell markedly within 15 minutes of both placebo HD sessions, but it was significantly lower (p less than 0.005) in CA than CU membrane. Ticlopidine prevented significantly (p less than 0.01) the HD-induced leucopenia. Slight changes in platelet count, either in placebo or Ticlopidine study were observed. Serum C3 complement increased significantly (p less than 0.05) at 15 minutes of CU placebo session and was also correlated (p less than 0.01) with the concurrent leucopenia. The arterial PO2 decreased 22% and 13.5% during HD with CU and CA membranes respectively, but it was preserved within normal limits by Ticlopidine. The arterial PH was increased up to 7.4 at the end of all HD sessions, while PCO2 showed only slight changes. We conclude that: 1) CA membrane is better tolerated than CU 2) HD-induced leucopenia and hypoxemia are prevented by Ticlopidine, probably by modulating the complement activation.