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Course Description

This 2½-day multidisciplinary program will be held at the Kona Kai Resort in San Diego, California. It is designed to appeal to first time attendees and to returning participants. Expert reviews of the essentials will be augmented with selected new topics and discussions of advances and innovations.

• Nationally and internationally recognized leaders will present didactic sessions and conduct interactive discussions
• Fundamentals will include in-depth reviews of basic principles, procedures, prescribing, clinical management and care of special populations
• Updates on selected disease indications will be supplemented by case studies and new clinical science
• Symposia will review plasma exchange, cell apheresis modalities, technology innovations, and program management
• The popular sessions on Frontiers in Apheresis Science and Expertise in Apheresis Practice will continue with updated topics
  
• Participants will be offered small group sessions led by experienced practitioners demonstrating various techniques and machines used in therapeutic apheresis
• Conference attendees will have the opportunity to submit challenging cases for discussion during an expert panel session

Target Audience

The target audience for this initiative includes physicians and allied health professionals interested in therapeutic apheresis, including both established practitioners and those embarking on a new apheresis service. The content is aimed at nephrologists, hematologists, clinical pathologists, blood bankers and nurses.

Educational Objectives

Overall Program Objectives

At the completion of this conference, participants will be able to:

• Review current clinical indications for therapeutic plasmapheresis, photopheresis and other cytapheresis procedures, per ASFA guidelines
• Discuss options for vascular access, anticoagulation, and prescription for the various apheresis techniques, and be able to evaluate and treat their associated complications
• Recognize and understand important pharmacologic issues that arise with apheresis procedures, including timing of administration, drug removal, as well as impact on anticoagulation
  
• Identify apheresis techniques in specialized populations such as pediatrics, LDL-apheresis, and Immune Effector Cell therapies (IEC, which includes CAR-T cells, etc.).
• Discuss apheresis program management issues
  
• Recognize recent developments in clinical trials and new applications of apheresis therapies
  

Small Group Sessions Learning Objectives

At the completion of the small group sessions, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish the apheresis modalities that can be performed by different types of apheresis equipment, such as centrifugal machines, membrane separators, secondary plasma purification and cell processing systems
• Describe the blood pathway configuration of each machine studied, and the operator-controlled adjustments that are typically needed
• Discuss the typical blood flow rate, anticoagulation and fluid replacement requirements of each machine studied
• Identify various vascular access options available for apheresis, including tips for successful peripheral IV placement as well as various port options
  
  

Contact Us

UC San Diego School of Medicine
Continuing Medical Education
9500 Gilman Drive, MC0947
La Jolla, CA 92093-0947
Phone: (858) 534-3940 or (888) 229-6263
Fax: (858) 534-1896
ocme@health.ucsd.edu