Key result
Citrate plasma exchange precipitates TdP with QTc prolongation to 509 ms in LQT2.
Why the study?
Citrate anticoagulation during therapeutic plasma exchange can precipitate torsades de pointes in patients with congenital long QT syndrome Type 2, but safe alternative modalities are not well described.
Does double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) prevent Torsades de Pointes compared to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in a patient with long QT syndrome Type 2?
Case Report (n=1)
Does double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) prevent Torsades de Pointes compared to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in a patient with long QT syndrome Type 2?
Double-filtration plasmapheresis may be a safer alternative to therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with long QT syndrome to avoid citrate-induced Torsades de Pointes.
Warrants caution with citrate during TPE in LQT2; single case leaves optimal strategies open.
Citrate anticoagulation during therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) chelates divalent cations and can precipitate torsades de pointes (TdP) in patients with pre-existing repolarization vulnerability. We report a 44-year-old woman with genetically determined long QT syndrome Type 2 (LQT2) presenting in myasthenic crisis due to anti-MuSK-positive myasthenia gravis. TPE was initiated urgently before confirmatory antibody results were available, as alternative rapid immunomodulatory options were not immediately accessible. Despite prophylactic electrolyte supplementation, the corrected QT interval (QTc) progressively prolonged, rising from a baseline of 493 to 509 ms-exceeding the 500 ms high-risk threshold-immediately before TdP onset during the second TPE. TPE was discontinued and replaced with double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) using albumin-based replacement, which reduces citrate exposure by retaining the patient's own albumin. Five subsequent DFPP sessions were completed without arrhythmia recurrence. This case highlights the apheresis-related arrhythmia risk in LQT2 and the mechanistic rationale for DFPP as a safer alternative.
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Biyajima et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Congenital long QT syndrome Type 2 (LQT2) and myasthenic crisis (n=1). Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with citrate anticoagulation vs. Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) was evaluated on Torsades de pointes (TdP) and QTc prolongation. Therapeutic plasma exchange with citrate anticoagulation precipitated torsades de pointes (QTc prolonged from 493 to 509 ms) in a patient with LQT2, safely resolved by switching to DFPP.
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