Plasmatology (Aug 2022)

Severe Hypertriglyceridemia Associated with Pegylated Asparaginase Successfully Treated with Plasma Exchange

  • Rafael-Emmanuel Cuevas,
  • Joan Cid,
  • Sara Carbonell-Ordeig,
  • Alberto Álvarez-Larran,
  • Miquel Lozano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/26348535221107531
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16

Abstract

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Asparaginase (ASP), a chemotherapy treatment used for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), is known to provoke severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG). We report the case of a woman with a history of obesity and diabetes mellitus who developed severe HTG (up to 7305 mg/dL) after receiving a pegylated form of ASP for ALL. The patient was treated with one plasma exchange without incident via peripheral veins using 5% albumin as a replacement solution. Her triglycerides were reduced to 485 mg/dL. A single plasma exchange was an efficient, fast, and safe way to decrease triglycerides concentration in plasma.