10 August 2019 (Saturday) - Babesiosis.



An interesting post in the Facebook Haematology Interest group – babesiosis.
I’ve never seen it outside of pictures on the internet. Would I recognise it in reality? I’d like to think that I would spot something was amiss, but (in all honesty) I doubt I would recognise it for what it was. Mind you, spotting something that shouldmn’t be there is the important thing…

9 August 2019 (Friday) - Transfusion Evidence Alert


My personal Transfusion Evidence Alert email came in today. As usual there was loads of stuff to read.



  • Review of Existing Scoring Systems For Massive Blood Transfusion in Trauma Patients: Where Do We Stand?
    El-Menyar A; Mekkodathil A; Abdelrahman H; Latifi R; Galwankar S; Al-Thani H; Rizoli S
    Shock (Augusta, Ga.). 2019
  • Mortality and Thrombosis in Injured Adults Receiving Tranexamic Acid in the Post-CRASH-2 Era
    Benipal S; Santamarina JL; Vo L; Nishijima DK
    The western journal of emergency medicine. 2019;20(3):443-453
  • Intraarticular injection of platelet-rich plasma in knee osteoarthritis: single versus triple application approach. Pilot study
    Simental-Mendia M; Acosta-Olivo CA; Hernandez-Rodriguez AN; Santos-Santos OR; de la Garza-Castro S; Pena-Martinez VM; Vilchez-Cavazos F
    Acta reumatologica portuguesa. 2019
  • Platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinopathy: A meta-analysis
    Liu CJ; Yu KL; Bai JB; Tian DH; Liu GL
    Medicine. 2019;98(16):e15278
  • Therapeutic options for adult patients with previously treated immune thrombocytopenia - a systematic review and network meta-analysis
    Yang R; Lin L; Yao H; Ji O; Shen Q
    Hematology (Amsterdam, Netherlands). 2019;24(1):290-299
  • Well-being and return rate of first-time whole blood donors
    Jansen P; Sumnig A; Esefeld M; Greffin K; Kaderali L; Greinacher A
    Vox sanguinis. 2019
  • Comparative efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose and iron sucrose for the treatment of preoperative anemia in patients with menorrhagia: An open-label, multicenter, randomized study
    Lee S; Ryu KJ; Lee ES; Lee KH; Lee JJ; Kim T
    The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research. 2019;45(4):858-864
  • Roxadustat Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Anemia in Japanese Patients Not on Dialysis: A Phase 2, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
    Akizawa T; Iwasaki M; Otsuka T; Reusch M; Misumi T
    Advances in therapy. 2019
  • Combination therapy using subcision, needling, and platelet-rich plasma in the management of grade 4 atrophic acne scars: A pilot study
    Bhargava S; Kroumpouzos G; Varma K; Kumar U
    Journal of cosmetic dermatology. 2019
  • [Effectiveness and mechanism of pure platelet-rich plasma on osteochondral injury of talus]
    Wei F; Wang Z
    Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery. 2019;33(5):555-562
  • 8 August 2019 (Thursday) - Transfusion News


    The “Transfusion News” email appeared in my in-box this morning. All sorts of useful stuff and even a podcast too…


    Transfusion of African Children with Severe Anemia
    August 7, 2019
    In order to better understand when to transfuse children with severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 6 g per deciliter) researchers from the United Kingdom and Africa collaborated on the Transfusion and Treatment of Severe Anemia in African Children Trial (TRACT)—an open-label, factorial, randomized controlled trial [Read More]
    A New Class of Drug to Treat Anemia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
    July 31, 2019
    Erythropoietin and iron supplements have been used for 30 years to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, but erythropoiesis-stimulating agents can only be safely used to [Read More]
    Radioactive! with Chris Tormey
    July 31, 2019 | BBGuy Podcast
    Irradiation prevents TA-GHVD, a lethal transfusion complication. But does it really do what you think it does? [Listen Now]
    Listen on Apple PodcastGet It on Google Play MusicStitcherGet It on Android
    WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo an International Emergency
    July 25, 2019
    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Since the outbreak was declared in August 2018, 2522 EVD cases have been reported [Read More]

    5 August 2019 (Monday) - Cw


    Here’s a little discussion on the Facebook Blood Bank Interest Group. The Cw antigen and the anti- Cw antibody and what do do if a patient with the antibody needs a blood transfusion.
    The discussion was interesting; as always it would seem that some of those contributing knew far more than others. But a Facebook discussion that doesn’t descend into petty bickering is always a good thing.

    1 August 2019 (Thursday) - Fritsma Factor



    The “Fritsma Factor” newsletter appeared in my in-box this morning. There was a link to a discussion about managing trauma, talk about von Willebrand disease, anticoagulants, and all sorts of stuff. Quite a useful little resource…

    1 August 2019 (Thursday) - Malaria



    Here’s something which I found in the Facebook Hematology Interest Group. Someone with two different strains of malaria. Would I spot this? I’d like to think I’d spot the malaria. But would I spot the two different species?...