8 March 2026 (Sunday) - Neutrophil Clumping

 I have seen this... but it's not common.

7 March 2026 (Saturday) - BTLP-TACT Exercise

I had a go at the BTLP-TACT thingy today. It presented me with one case – a twenty-nine year-old woman in theatre having an above-knee amputation and needing two units of blood.

She grouped as O Rh(D) Positive with antibody screen positive in all three cells. I requested antibody panels.

The IAT panel was positive in cells 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 corresponding with anti-S and anti-Fy(a) but not excluding anti-K.

The enzyme panel was negative throughout which excluded quite a bit..

 

I selected two units of O Rh(D) Positive S-negative Fy(a)-negative K-negative

 

I got the thumbs-down. Apparently there was a clinically significant antibody masked but not noted. I’d love to know what it was.

This is a major failing of the BTLP-TACT simulator. You can’t learn anything from your mistakes. 

5 March 2026 (Thursday) - NEQAS 2601 BF

I got the results of NEQAS morphology 2601BF today
 
2601 BF1
 
302   Thrombocytopenia (consensus 1^st)
212      Blast cells (consensus 2^nd)
012   Red cell fragments (consensus 3^th)
213   Promyelocytes (consensus 4^th)
022   NRBC (consensus 5^th)
 
I said ?? acute promyelocytic leukaemia. It was.
 
2601 BF2
 
212      Blast cells (consensus 1^st)
224   Basophilia (consensus 2^nd)
022   NRBC (consensus 3^th)
301   Thrombocytosis (consensus 4^th)
213   Promyelocytes (consensus 8^th)
 
I said ?? CML transforming. It was certainly something transforming, but the expert opinion was rather vague as to what.

 

5 March 2026 (Thursday) - NEQAS 2601 PA

I got the results of NEQAS parasitology 2601PA today
 
2601 PA1
 
I said this was P Falciparum with trophozoites and a parasitaemia of 0.5%
I got the species and the parasitaemia right
 
2602 PA2
I said this was Microfilaria (loa loa)
It was.

3 March 2026 (Tuesday) - Fritsma Factor Update

 

The Fritsma Factor newsletter appeared in my in-box this evening. There was quite a bit to take in, but I’m very grateful for this update. It’s effectively my only way of keeping up with current developments in haemostasis.

3 March 2026 (Tuesday) - Extended DAT Panel (wassat?)

Here’s an interesting case study prompted by a conversation in the lab today… Extended DAT panel… what's that all about?

2 March 2026 (Monday) - Transfusion Evidence Library Update

The nice people at the Transfusion Evidence Library sent their update today. Keeping platelets cold eh? I wonder how long it will be before I’m doing that myself?

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH

Intravenous iron for non-anaemic iron deficiency in pregnancy: a multicentre, two-arm, randomised controlled trial.
Wasim, T., et al. (2026). The Lancet. Haematology.
PICO SUMMARY

 

 

TOP ARTICLES

Efficacy of desmopressin for post-kidney biopsy bleeding complications prevention: a systematic review with frequentist and Bayesian meta-analysis.
Chen, J.J., et al. (2026). Nephrology.

Study of centrifugal therapeutic plasma exchange and membrane therapeutic plasma exchange; a comparative study.
Elghoneimy, H.A., et al. (2025). Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis. [Record in progress].

Effects of rhEPO-Fc on chronic renal anemia in Chinese patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis: a multicenter, randomized, open-label, and phase 3 study.
Gan, L., et al. (2025). Renal Failure.

Risk prediction models for blood transfusion in patients undergoing total hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Liu, X., et al. (2026). Annals of Medicine.

Daprodustat vs recombinant human erythropoietin for anemia and cardiovascular safety in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis-dependent CKD patients - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Mishra, H.P., et al. (2026). Current Reviews in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology. [Record in progress].

Effectiveness of closed blood-sampling devices in critically ill adults: a feasibility trial.
Raurell-Torredà, M., et al. (2026). Nursing in Critical Care.

Liberal versus restrictive blood transfusion strategies in neurocritical care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Shaukat, A., et al. (2026). Critical Care Research and Practice.

The effect of online education on cardiovascular intensive care nurses' self-efficacy in blood transfusion: a randomized controlled trial conducted in Turkey.
Songül, A. and Bahar, A. (2025). Transfusion and Apheresis Science.

A pilot trial of long-distance shipped, extended- and cold-stored platelets in 100% plasma for cardiothoracic surgical bleeding.
Stolla, M., et al. (2026). Transfusion. [Record in progress].