19 December 2016 (Monday) - BloodMed Newsletter

The latest BloodMed email arrived in my in-box this morning. There were one or two snippets of note:

News

• UK study to trial emergency blood products
• Diabetes link to lymphoma-related heart failure
• Ribosome role in multiple myeloma

Slides

• Hodgkin cells in a trephine biopsy section of bone marrow, H&E

Maybe not quite as relevant to me as I might have liked, but something for nothing is never bad…

18 December 2016 (Sunday) - Pipette Ninja (!)

A week or so ago I mentioned an on-line quiz about pippetting. I got my certificate today. Hardly academically up there with some of my profesional qualifications, but I quite like being a pipetting ninja!!

16 December 2016 (Friday) - Severe Congenital Neutropenia

I came across a case of severe congenital neutropenia this morning. This is a nasty condition that causes affected individuals to be prone to recurrent infections because of a deficiency of neutrophils.

The neutropenia is apparent at birth or soon afterward. It leads to recurrent infections beginning in infancy, including infections of the sinuses, lungs, and liver. Affected individuals can also develop fevers and inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) and skin. Approximately 40 percent of affected people have decreased bone density (osteopenia) and may develop osteoporosis

In people with severe congenital neutropenia, these bone disorders can begin at any time from infancy through adulthood.

Approximately 20 percent of people with severe congenital neutropenia develop leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome during adolescence.

Some people with severe congenital neutropenia have additional health problems such as seizures, developmental delay, or heart and genital abnormalities.

It turns out there are half a dozen different forms of the condition…

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/severe-congenital-neutropenia

14 December 2017 (Wednesday) - A New Facebook Group

I discovered a new group on Facebook – “Haematology Interest Group”. It looks to have some good case studies on there; I might just shamelessly blag some from time to time…

It looks as though you need to be logged in to Facebook to see the cases... Fine by me - I have a Facebook account. If any of my loyal readers haven't.... it's time to join the twenty-first century !!!

13 December 2016 (Tuesday) - Transfusion News email

The Transfusion News email came in today.... here's some highlights:

Crizanlizumab May Help Sickle Cell Patients Prevent Pain Crises

December 7, 2016
Vaso-occlusive crisis—sickle cell pain related crisis—is the primary cause for hospital visits for sickle cell patients. Although the etiology of vaso-occlusion is not well understood, increased expression of P-selectin in endothelial cells and platelets contributes to the pathogenesis. Crizanlizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed toward P-selection, blocks it’s interaction with other cells and may reduce the [Read More]


RAND Study Highlights Challenges Facing the US Blood Supply

November 30, 2016
The RAND Corporation conducted a study examining the United States’ blood supply system. Data was collected from interviews with 9 blood centers, 8 hospitals, and 11 corporations that supply equipment for blood collection centers. Interviews were also conducted with 6 governmental agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services. The RAND report noted a [Read More]


Drones Capable of Delivering Blood Products

November 22, 2016
Drones—small pilotless aircrafts—are capable of delivering packages cheaply and are not limited to passable roads or constrained by traffic. Rwanda started using drones to deliver blood products this year. Researchers in the United States recently investigated the use of drones to deliver blood products that need to be maintained at a constant temperature during transport. [Read More]

12 December 2016 (Monday) - MHRA blog

The MHRA run a blog. https://mhrainspectorate.blog.gov.uk/ 

I've added it to the reading list on the panel on the right hand side of this page

12 December 2016 (Monday) - Blood FIlm NEQAS

The blood film NEQAS came in this morning. I had a look, and by the time I got round to writing this up the consensus reports were available…

1608 BF1

I said: Lymphocytosis blast cells smear cells nrbc low plts CLL transforming

Consensus: Thrombocytopenia Nucleated RBCs Smear/smudge cells Blast cells Lymphocytosis Low grade lymphoproliferative disorder transforming

1608 BF2

I said: neutrophilia left shift toxic granulation myelocytes infection

Consensus: Toxic granulatio Neutrophilia Cytoplasmic vacuolation Band form neutrophils/Left shift Myelocytes Severe infection

I’m quite pleased with that… it is only a shame these results take so long to become available…