25 July 2017 (Tuesday) - Histiocytes

The Lablogatory people sent me an interesting case study today:

“Case history A 50 year old female with a past medical history significant for Sjogren’s syndrome and ventricular tachycardia s/p ICD placement presented for a routine chest X-ray in which a 1.8 cm spiculated left upper lobe lung mass was identified. A subsequent PET scan revealed FDG avidity. Other Imaging revealed no lymphadenopathy. The patient…”

Histiocytes ?

25 July 2017 (Tuesday) - Transfusion News email

The “Transfusion News” email arrived this morning. Several things piqued my interest:

Intrinsic Platelet Reactivity does not Affect Transfusion Outcome

July 20, 2017
Platelet reactivity to agonists has been shown to be different between donors yet consistent within the same individual. Researchers in the United Kingdom hypothesized that more active platelets would be cleared from circulation resulting in lower platelet counts in transfused patients. In order to test this hypothesis, donors with high and low responding platelets were [Read More]

Reversal of Direct Oral Anticoagulants: a Systematic Review

July 12, 2017
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban, have many advantages over warfarin for treating patients with thromboembolic issues. DOACs may be reversed by agents such as activated and inactivated prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs), idarucizumab and andexanet alfa. In order to determine the safety and efficacy of reversing DOACs in bleeding emergencies [Read More]

Why Give Platelets? with Rick Kaufman

July 24, 2017 | BBGuy Podcast
Transfusion News has joined forces with Blood Bank Guy to bring you the best possible Transfusion Medicine educational content and current news.

25 July 2017 (Tuesday) - Outstanding?

I found this website today.

“Following the success of the inaugural Our Health Heroes Awards in November 2016, the celebration of our healthcare workforce is back for 2017.

This year, we’re going bigger and better and want to recognise the hard work of even more of our nation’s Healthcare Heroes; whether they are support workers, apprentices, integrated teams or workforce planners we don’t want their work to go unnoticed.

We will be searching for teams and individuals that go above and beyond the call of duty, are creative and innovative in their roles and deserve a big thank you.

If you know someone that fits the bill, nominate them to get the recognition they deserve.”

I have an issue with this sort of thing. In singling out one person or one team for recognition for their efforts one automatically (if unwittingly) belittles the effort of everyone else.

I wish people wouldn’t look to reward “outstanding individuals”; they just undermine the morale of everyone else.