4 July 2020 (Saturday) - BTLP-TACT Exercise

Time to do another BTLP-TACT exercise

I was presented with two cases

18445 – a ninety-two year old woman requiring group and save prior to a surgical procedure

This lady grouped as AB Rh(D) Positive with a negative antibody screen

86388 – a thirty five year old woman with a bladder tumour also requiring group and save

This lady grouped as A Rh(D) Positive also with a negative antibody screen

I got the green light

2 July 2020 (Thursday) - D Dimer Reference Range

Normal ranges…. I’m showing my age. We haven’t had “normal ranges” in the lab for years – we have “reference ranges”. Bearing in mind the current importance of the D-dimer assay in the ongoing COVID-19 situation it is essential that we have the correct reference range for that analyte. Less than two hundred and foty-whatever isn’t actually much good in the elderly population who naturally have a raised D-dimer.

Ten times the patient’s age would seem to be a good estimate of the topend of “reference”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3487551/

1 July 2020 (Wednesday) - A Free Webinar

“New evidence is emerging daily that COVID-19 isn’t just a respiratory disease; it is a blood disease. Data are emerging that COVID-19 infection can result in coagulopathy in severely ill patients, and there are reports of an increased risk of clinical and subclinical thrombosis in the setting of severe COVID-19 disease with multiple reports citing an increased incidence of thrombosis, especially venous thromboembolism...”

The nice people at the American Society of Hematology have provided free access to a webinar on the matter. You can access it by clicking here.

29 July 2020 (Monday) - Coagulation Dysregulation in COVID-19

It has been established that patients infected with COVID-19 who had very elevated D-dimer levels were more likely to die from their COVID-19 related pneumonia. Here’s a little review of coagulation dysregulation in COVID-19 infections.

26 June 2020 (Friday) - ASH News

Today’s A.S.H. news focussed on chronic leukaemias:

	BTKi Improves Disease Control in CLL After Progression on Venetoclax In this small study, patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who achieved prolonged or complete remission while on venetoclax had significantly longer progression-free survival on BTKi therapy.
	Interim Results of Randomized Comparison of Ponatinib Starting Doses in Chronic-Phase CML Response-based ponatinib dosing demonstrated clinical benefit in patients with resistant chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia, according to results presented as part of the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program.
	Demystifying PCR-Based Molecular Monitoring in CML ASH Clinical News spoke with experts about the development of PCR molecular-based testing, how it is used in CML, and how the technology is evolving.

26 June 2020 (Friday) - Information Governance

I did my information governance e-learning today. The cynical part of me sees this as teaching grannie (or in my case granddad) to suck eggs. But I suppose a reminder and a refresher is always a good thing

Am I really being that cynical in thinking that this is an incredibly serious and important subject that has become a subject of ridicule by being bogged down with utterly unnecessary jargon? Do the terms “Caldecott principles” and “intelligent sharing of information” and “improved lifecycle efficiencies” and “better regulatory compliance” actually help anyone? I can’t help but feel that people get bogged down with the big words and lose sight of the need not to go nosing in stuff that is none of your business?

25 June 2020 (Thursday) - Transfusion News email

The nice people at Transfusion News sent their update today. There was the obligatory mention of COVID-19, but there were articles that were about other stuff too…

 

ABO Blood Group Associated with COVID-19 Severity

June 23, 2020 It has long been known that different blood antigens may carry risks or protection depending on the disease, and coronaviruses are no exception. New data from at least 3 recent studies, including one published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that individuals with blood group O are [Read More]

What to do When Everything is Incompatible with Jill Storry

June 17 2020 | BBGuy Podcast CE Episode! Uh-oh! Your patient needs blood, but EVERYTHING is incompatible! Jill Storry says, "Take it easy. Here's what to do next. [Listen Now]

Pathogen Reduction Reduces SARS-CoV-2 in Plasma and Whole Blood

June 17, 2020 Similar to other respiratory viruses, it is suspected that SARS-CoV-2 is not transfusion-transmitted. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in plasma, and the medical community must remain vigilant. In order to determine if pathogen reduction reduces SARS-CoV-2 in plasma and whole blood [Read More]