The team used the Molecular Adsorbents Recirculating System, an albumin dialysis system, in a patient with prolonged severe intoxication after reported diazepam ingestion. The first session was followed by a decline in the reported plasma benzodiazepine concentration from 1,772 to 780 micrograms per liter. Five sessions were performed.
A before-and-after decline shows what changed between the two samples. Interpreting how much drug was removed requires more information about what the assay measured, when the samples were collected, and whether redistribution or ongoing metabolism contributed. A measured change during treatment and an estimate of total clearance are different results.
The authors reported that mechanical ventilation ended after the last treatment session. The report describes a temporal sequence in one patient who also received supportive care. It cannot quantify how much faster recovery occurred than it would have without the procedure.