12 June 2021 (Saturday) - ASH Updates

 The American Society of Hematology sent a couple of updates today. All a tad specialised, but all useful snippets. I particularly found the bit about ABO mismatched platelets to be interesting. Considering there aren’t (supposed to be) A or B antigens on platelets, how does that work?

 Here are the highlights in bleeding disorders:

Outcomes After ABO-Incompatible Platelet Transfusions in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage The use of an incompatible platelet unit led to suboptimal platelet recovery and worse in-hospital outcomes at discharge compared with patients who received ABO-compatible transfusions.

Characterizing Complications Among Infants and Toddlers With von Willebrand Disease A new report describes the experiences of infants and toddlers living with VWD, highlighting the role and importance of a family history on the diagnosis of VWD and identifying several factors associated with early diagnosis.

Investigation Finds Hemophilia Gene Therapy Likely Did Not Cause Hepatocellular Carcinoma The FDA placed a clinical hold on etranacogene dezaparvovec following a report of HCC in a patient enrolled in the HOPE-B trial, but an investigation revealed the cancer was not likely to be treatment-related.

ASH Clinical News is following the 26th Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association to report on the latest advances in hematologic malignancies. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:

Head-to-Head Trial Confirms Acalabrutinib’s Noninferiority to Ibrutinib in CLL
For the treatment of patients with CLL, acalabrutinib is noninferior to ibrutinib in terms of progression-free survival and was associated with lower incidence of common adverse events, such as atrial fibrillation.

B-Cell Depletion Linked to Prolonged COVID-19 in Lymphoma
A study of patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma hospitalized for COVID-19 has found that these patients had a higher incidence of prolonged evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

PDE9 Inhibitor Shows Promise as Monotherapy and With Hydroxyurea in Sickle Cell Disease
Daily dosing of the oral phosphodiesterase type 9 inhibitor IMR-687, at doses up to 200 mg, was safe and well-tolerated as a monotherapy or in combination with hydroxyurea in patients with sickle cell disease.

 

10 June 2021 (Thursday) - Transfusion News Update

The nice people at Transfusion News sent their update today. I like Transfusion News. Unlike other sources of CPD who bombard me with information (until my head is for to burst), the nice people at Transfusion News have three articles. A manageable amount…

 

Screening for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in U.S. Blood Donors

June 8, 2021 In March 2020, just a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic began in China, the U.S. launched the REDS Epidemiology, Surveillance and Preparedness of Novel SARS-CoV-2 (RESPONSE) study to determine the safety of the blood supply—specifically seroprevalence in blood donors and transfusion-transmission of SARS-CoV-2. [Read More]

FROM OUR SPONSOR Join us to learn how a National Reference Laboratory deals with anti-CD38 in a pretransfusion setting

In this webinar, Sofia Lejon Crottet, PhD, head of the Swiss National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory, will explain how a reference laboratory deals with anti-CD38, the various methods available, their pros and cons, as well as their financial impacts. In this review, Sofia will share with us case studies that demonstrate how pretransfusion testing can be efficiently completed. She will give an overview on factors to be considered when choosing a method for eliminating Daratumumab interference. [Register Now]

Population-Based Study in India Helps Refine Hemoglobin Thresholds for Anemia in Children

June 2, 2021 Since hemoglobin thresholds for anemia are currently based on data collected over 50 years ago in Caucasian adults, the WHO is calling for a re-examination of these thresholds. One suggested approach is to define anemia by age- and sex-appropriate hemoglobin cut-offs—namely the lowest 5% in an otherwise healthy population. These data, however, are scarce in low- and middle-income countries.[Register Now]

 

 

8 June 2021 (Tuesday) - Stago Newsletter

The Stago newsletter arrived in my in-box today. Focussing on Vaccine induced Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia it wasn’t of immediate relevance to me, but it is haemostatically orientated and I struggle to get CPD which is that. And something for nothing is always a bonus…

 

6 June 2021 (Monday) - The Oncologist

The nice people at “The Oncologist” sent their update today. It was all rather clinical, and much of it went over my head as it does. Part of me wonders if I should unsubscribe from their mailing list, but I think something probably seeps into my thick head…