The nurse’s role in caring for patients undergoing LDL-Apheresis Elaine Jefford LDL-Apheresis is a new, exciting, highly computerised treatment which is currently being researched. It selectively removes the harmful lipoproteins, in particular Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) to which is attributed accelerated coronary artery disease 2-3 years after cardiac transplantation. Accepting the rather unique nursing role caring for patients receiving this treatment, the author has found that the research programme has opened up a challenging and very interesting variation in her career using advanced computerised technology. But it has also provided increased opportunity for her to use nursing skills, particularly in the area of communication, to enhance her relationship with the patients and raise the standard of care given. With the introduction of more sophisticated computers to monitor and assist the manage- ment of patients’ conditions, nurses’ knowledge and expertise has had to adapt and expand. According to Sinclair (1988, p 37): ‘There has perhaps never been a greater need for well-educated nurses, capable of assuming accountability for analysing the computer’s sophisticated data and trusting their own clinical impressions, correlating both sets of data without feeling intimidated by the computer’ The purpose here is to show from experience that while playing a role in a research study pioneering a new treatment for coronary artery disease in patients following transplantation, the Elaine Jofford EN, C & C 730, ENB 934, Research Nurse, currently working within the transplant unit at Harefield Hospital, Cambridge, UK (Requests for offprints to EJ) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Manuscript accepted 10 September 1992 62 extended role of the nurse can be technological and still leave time for nursing care. In addition the process of this new treatment is explained. Coronary artery disease has now reached epidemic proportions worldwide. In 1990 within the United Kingdom there were 58 deaths per 100000 of the population per annum under the age of 65 years, and 895 deaths per 100000 of the population over the age of 65, all attributed to coronary artery disease (Health of the Nation, 1992). The current treatments available for this disease are listed in Table 1. Although cardiac transplantation is a well established end-stage treatment for coronary artery disease, it is becoming apparent that a major complication occurring significantly 2-3 years after transplant is coronary artery disease. It has been suggested that this is associated with serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood (Barbir et al, 1991). In June 1991 a research study using a pro- cedure called LDL-Apheresis was commenced at Harefield Hospital to assess the effectiveness of