11 February 2017 (Saturday) - Weak D

Here’s food for thought. Selective integration of RhD genotyping in laboratory practices could improve the accuracy of RhD typing results, reduce unnecessary administration of Rh-Ig in women with a serological weak D phenotype, and decrease unnecessary transfusion of RhD-negative red cells to recipients with a serological weak D phenotype

But how often do we see these weak Ds? I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one that wasn’t actually already known. They are quite obscure. I this something to be referred to a transfusion centre?

I suppose the clever thing is spotting the weak expression of the D antigen on the first place.

10 February 2017 (Friday) - Transfusion News email

Postpartum Hemorrhage and Predelivery Anemia are Risk Factors for Severe Postpartum Anemia after Cesarean Sections

February 8, 2017
Cesarean sections are one of the most common surgical operations. Postpartum anemia is a prevalent side-effect, and has been linked to postpartum depression, fatigue and other impaired cognitive functions. In a recent study published by Transfusion, researchers analyzed data from over 70,000 women after cesarean sections performed between 2005 and 2013 to determine risk factors [Read More]

Platelet Counts in Blood Donors Deferred for Hemoglobin Are Variable

January 25, 2017
Repeat blood donors make up a significant proportion of the blood donor pool in the United States. Recent studies have found that frequent blood donation increases the risk for iron deficiency, which may be associated with abnormal platelet counts. Researchers at the National Institute of Health retrospectively examined platelet levels among 1273 hemoglobin (Hb)-deferred whole [Read More]

Asymptomatic Blood Donors Have Zika Virus

January 19, 2017
As the Zika flavivirus (ZIKV) has spread throughout the Western Hemisphere, reports of severe side effects such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, acute neurological infections, and microcephaly have proliferated. Although the virus is usually transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, reports of sexual, maternal-fetal, and transfusion-transmission have also been documented. In order to gain a better understanding of the [Read More]

8 February 2017 (Wednesday) - What Is It ?

A post in a Facebook group I follow – identify the cell above. Well, it’s a myelocyte isn’t it. Isn’t it?

Reading the various opinions posted I found myself wondering if maybe it was slightly earlier – a promyelocyte perhaps?

This might be a good one for the consensus website project I thought about a few days ago…

7 February 2017 (Tuesday) - Transfusion Evidence Library Update

The Transfusion Evidence Library Update came in this morning. Loads of articles to consider including:

• IV ferric carboxymaltose vs oral iron in the treatment of post-partum iron deficiency anaemia
  Damineni SC; Thunga S
  Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : Jcdr. 2016;10(-11):QC08-QC10
• Comparative evaluation of platelet-rich fibrin versus beta-tri-calcium phosphate in the treatment of Grade II mandibular furcation defects using cone-beam computed tomography
  Siddiqui ZR; Jhingran R; Bains VK; Srivastava R; Madan R; Rizvi I
  European Journal of Dentistry. 2016;10(-4):496-506
• Sublingual misoprostol versus intravenous oxytocin in reducing bleeding during and after cesarean delivery: a randomized clinical trial
  Othman ER; Fayez MF; El Aal DE; El-Dine Mohamed HS; Abbas AM; Ali MK
  Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2016;55(-6):791-795
• Carbetocin versus oxytocin for prevention of post-partum haemorrhage at caesarean section in the United Kingdom: an economic impact analysis
  van der Nelson HA; Draycott T; Siassakos D; Yau CW; Hatswell AJ
  European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology. 2017;210:286-291
• Fibrin glue for pilonidal sinus disease
  Lund J; Tou S; Doleman B; Williams JP
  The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;(-1):CD011923
• Treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP): an overview of systematic reviews
  Oaklander AL; Lunn MP; Hughes RA; van Schaik IN; Frost C; Chalk CH
  The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;(-1):CD010369
• Effects of ferric citrate in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD and iron deficiency anemia
  Fishbane S; Block GA; Loram L; Neylan J; Pergola PE; Uhlig K; Chertow GM
  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : Jasn. 2017
• The effect of methylprednisolone treatment on fibrinolysis, thecoagulation system, and blood loss in cardiac surgery
  Ebrahimi L; Kheirandish M; Foroughi M
  Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences. 2016;46(-6):1645-1654
• Relationship between alternative resuscitation strategies, host response and injury biomarkers, and outcome in septic shock: analysis of the Protocol-Based Care for Early Septic Shock study
  Kellum JA. Pike F; Yealy DM; Huang DT; Shapiro NI; Angus DC
  Critical Care Medicine. 2017
• Impact of balanced tetrastarch raw material on perioperative blood loss: a randomized double blind controlled trial
  Joosten A; Tircoveanu R; Arend S; Wauthy P; Gottignies P; Van der Linden P
  British Journal of Anaesthesia. 2016;117(-4):442-449