[Comparative study on platelet transfusion in Lorraine-Champagne and Alsace in 2015]. / Étude comparative des transfusions de concentrés plaquettaires en Alsace et en Lorraine-Champagne en 2015.

OBJECTIVES: To find explanations for the observed differences of platelets concentrates (PC) deliveries between 2 French regions, Lorraine-Champagne (LOCH) and Alsace (ALSA). METHODS: This is a non-interventional prospective study, performed during 30 days in 2015 in intensive care, cardiovascular surgery and onco-hematological wards of 8 LOCH and ALSA hospitals. Questionnaires listing clinical and biological parameters were attached to the prescription forms and filled in at each PC prescription. RESULTS: In all, 290 patients, 1093 prescriptions and 1093 deliveries of PC were analyzed. The pre-transfusional context (patient weight, prophylactic or curative situation, pre-transfusional platelet count) were homogenous. The phasing of the prescription forms wording had a direct impact on the doses' formulation : 100 % of the LOCH forms were expressed in platelet quantity (PQ), vs 22 % in ALSA. The mean interval between 2 transfusions was 2.9 days in ALSA vs 4.9 days in LOCH. The mean PQ/delivery was higher in ALSA (5.6.1011 vs 4.0.1011 in LOCH). The delivered PQs were compared to the 2003 French recommendations that were in force in 2015. Twenty-seven percent of the LOCH delivered PQs were in the recommended interval, vs Forty-nine percent in ALSA. Due to the systematic delivery of a single PC unit, including weights>80Kg, LOCH presented 63 % insufficient PQ deliveries. Twenty-two percent of the deliveries in ALSA were over the recommended interval, mostly linked with the simultaneous delivery of a second PC. CONCLUSION: This study identifies disparities in terms of prescription and delivery between LOCH and ALSA, which may explain their respective PC consumption levels.

[Blood products delivery by hospital blood banks in emergency situations in France]. / Délivrance en urgence des produits sanguins labiles à partir des dépôts de sang.

In France, 13.5% of labile blood products (LBP) are delivered by 644 hospital blood banks, 472 being devoted to emergency only. A nation-wide survey aimed to describe their activity in emergency situations was carried out from September 12th to 26th, 2011. All of 26 French regions but two participated, 548 (85%) of their hospital blood banks answered a questionnaire, of which 56% had actually issued blood in emergency situations. A total of 5241 LBP were delivered, 24% for utmost vital emergencies (UVE), 25% for vital emergencies (VE) and 51% for relative emergencies (RE). In UVE and VE, 47% of the packed red blood cells (PRBC) delivered were O RH1. Females were half of the 2102 patients, mean age was 67 years. In UVE, banks devoted to emergency only, issued LBP for 228 patients (57%) and other banks for 169, acute digestive tract and surgical hemorrhage being the most frequent indications. The average number of PRBC transfused in 24 hours per patient varied with the criticality of the emergency: 2.3 for RE, 3.9 for VE and 6.1 for UVE. The mortality rate at 24 hours of first delivery was 1.2% in RE, 2.8% in VE and 10.1% in UVE. Time between prescription and start of transfusion of PRBC in UVE was within 15 minutes in 50% of cases and within 25 minutes in 75% of cases for emergency devoted banks but respectively 25% and less than 50% for others. The proportion of surviving patients having received more than three LBP in 24 hours was 58% in UVE, 33% in VE and 10% in RE. The proportion of over the limit waiting time for PRBC transfusion in UVE is critical, mainly for banks not only devoted to emergencies. The high proportion of UVE and VE patients receiving three PRBC or less in 24 hours may also be an indicator that some physicians do not comply with emergency prescription rules. An effort should be made to improve the activity, in emergencies, of a part of hospital blood banks and the way physicians use them.

[Computerization of hospital blood banks in France: what has been done and what remains to be done]. / Informatisation des dépôts de sang: ce qui est fait et ce qui reste à faire.

French regulation requires hospital blood banks to have data processing of their blood transfusion activities. In order to help them to achieve this goal, guidelines were published by an official working party. For their diffusion, a study was launched to assess current gaps between guidelines and reality. Analysis of the first forty responses shows: 1) computerization is already set up for main blood banks and is going well for the others; 2) most of guideline functionalities are now working in main blood banks; but some points need specific developments; 3) taken as a whole, other blood banks are further from guideline requirements, even if some have already reached the goal; 4) guidelines are able to point out to all hospital blood banks what remains to be done.

[Adverse unidentified transfusion reactions in five French regions: analysis, results, propositions]. / Les effets indésirables receveurs inconnus de cinq régions françaises: analyse, résultats, propositions.

OBJECTIVE: Adverse transfusion effects with "unidentified diagnosis" are yearly notified on the French national database "e-FIT" in various numbers and with high interregional discrepancies. The aim of this work was to analyse them in order do reach a better understanding of these notifications. RESULTS: On a total of 2499 "Fiches d'Effets Indésirables Receveurs" (FEIR) registered in 2006 in five French regions, 416 with "unidentified diagnosis" were analysed. Fifty-seven percent of them were kept classified in "unidentified diagnosis". Forty-three per cent of FEIR were reclassified, some in already proposed diagnostic categories (100 EIR), some in new proposed diagnostic categories (80 EIR) as: pathological context of the patient, pains linked to transfusion, hypotension. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the necessity to re-examine the French notification system. It underlines the insufficiency of clinical and biological investigations, which could allow to reach accurate diagnosis. It gives prominence the necessity of taking into account the patient's pathology and targets at least two diagnoses of transfusion adverse effects which are not yet proposed on the FEIR model. This work brings an overture about evolution of the French haemovigilance database which will involve further developments.

[Pulmonary complications of transfusion (TACO-TRALI)]. / Complications pulmonaires de la transfusion (TACO-TRALI).

Pulmonary oedemas occurring during or after a blood transfusion appear as the most frequent serious immediate incidents in the French hemovigilance database. They include transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI). TACO are a major cause of transfusion-related death in France. TRALI are more and more recognized and notified. In no case, pooled fresh frozen plasma (100 donations) treated with solvent-detergent were involved in French TRALI cases. A logigrame will allow hemovigilance officers to better classify pulmonary oedemas in e-fit, the French hemovigilance database.

Protection by ipratropium bromide and metaproterenol against methacholine and histamine bronchoconstriction.

To establish relative protection against methacholine and histamine, 40 micrograms of ipratropium bromide, an anticholinergic compound, 1.3 mg of metaproterenol or placebo aerosols were administered by metered-dose inhaler prior to inhalation challenge with methacholine or histamine in nine asthmatic subjects. Double-blind, randomized challenges were performed. Subjects required a mean methacholine dose of 1.72 +/- 0.73 and 2.46 +/- 0.72 (Ln inhalation units), and mean histamine dose of 2.16 +/- 0.65 and 2.68 +/- 0.49, to cause a drop of 20% and 35% respectively in the FEV1 following the placebo. In the methacholine challenges, both ipratropium bromide and metaproterenol had significant protection as compared to placebo (P less than 0.001). There was no statistical difference in the degree of protection against methacholine between ipratropium bromide and metaproterenol. In histamine challenges, metaproterenol had significant protection as compared to the placebo, while ipratropium bromide did not protect against histamine.