Value of hematological parameters for predicting patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019: a real-world cohort from Morocco.

OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The clinical manifestations and the evolution of patients with COVID-19 are variable. In addition to respiratory involvement, COVID-19 leads to systemic involvement and can affect the hematopoietic system. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of hematological and hemocytometric parameters in predicting the severity of patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study at Mohammed VI university Hospital from 1 March to 11 November 2020. We collected demographic characteristics and hematological findings of incident COVID-19 cases. RESULTS: A total of 245 patients were included in our study. We found that the rate of lymphopenia was significantly reduced in patients who were severely affected by COVID-19. Additionally, the rate of neutrophilia, the neutrophil side fluorescence light signal, monocyte fluorescent intensity, monocyte size, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio were significantly elevated in patients who were severely affected by COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with the literature regarding the predictive value of these markers. A prospective validation in a large population with a longer follow-up is required.

Morocco's First Biobank: Establishment, Ethical Issues, Biomedical Research Opportunities, and Challenges.

BACKGROUND: Biobanks are highly organized infrastructures that allow the storage of human biological specimens associated with donors' personal and clinical data. These infrastructures play a key role in the development of translational medical research. In this context, we launched, in November 2015, the first biobank in Morocco (BRO Biobank) in order to promote biomedical research and provide opportunities to include Moroccan and North African ethnic groups in international biomedical studies. Here, we present the setup and the sample characteristics of BRO Biobank. METHODS: Patients were recruited at several departments of two major health-care centers in the city of Oujda. Healthy donors were enrolled during blood donation campaigns all over Eastern Morocco. From each participant, personal, clinical, and biomedical data were collected, and several biospecimens were stored. Standard operating procedures have been established in accordance with international guidelines on human biobanks. RESULTS: Between November 2015 and July 2020, 2446 participants were recruited into the BRO Biobank, of whom 2013 were healthy donors, and 433 were patients. For healthy donors, the median age was 35 years with a range between 18 and 65 years and the consanguinity rate was 28.96%. For patients, the median age was 11 years with a range between 1 day and 83 years. Among these patients, 55% had rare diseases (hemoglobinopathies, intellectual disabilities, disorders of sex differentiation, myopathies, etc.), 13% had lung cancer, 4% suffered from hematological neoplasms, 3% were from the kidney transplantation project, and 25% had unknown diagnoses. The BRO Biobank has collected 5092 biospecimens, including blood, white blood cells, plasma, serum, urine, frozen tissue, FFPE tissue, and nucleic acids. A sample quality control has been implemented and suggested that samples of the BRO Biobank are of high quality and therefore suitable for high-throughput nucleic acid analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The BRO Biobank is the largest sample collection in Morocco, and it is ready to provide samples to national and international research projects. Therefore, the BRO Biobank is a valuable resource for advancing translational medical research.

A Rare Case of Non-Secretory Multiple Myeloma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Non-secretory myeloma (NSM) is a rare form of myeloma. It is defined as monoclonal plasmocytic proliferation of the bone marrow with the same clinical and radiological manifestations of myeloma. However, plasma cells are unable to secrete immunoglobulin (serum and urinary electrophoresis are negative and free light chain measurement is unquantifiable). This variant of multiple myeloma (MM) usually poses a diagnostic challenge to the biologist and clinician. We report a rare case of non-secretory myeloma in a 76-year-old patient who was diagnosed at the Mohammed V University Hospital Center in Oujda, Morocco.

[Transudative myelomatous pleurisy revealing pleural localization of primary plasma cell leukemia]. / Pleurésie myélomateuse transudative révélant une localisation pleurale d'une leucémie à plasmocytes de novo.

Primary plasma cell leukemia (PPCL) is an aggressive and rare variant of multiple myeloma (MM), with frequent extramedullary involvement, mainly liver and splenic lesions. Pleuropulmonary involvement has rarely been described in the literature. We report a case of primary plasma cell leukemia in a 46-year-old patient, whose first symptom was pleural effusion with mediastinal adenopathies simulating a pleural localization of a lymphomatous process. However, blood smear examination, electrophoresis as well as immunofixation of plasma proteins and immuno-histochemistry have helped to guide the diagnosis. Pleurisy is a rare mode of revelation of plasma cell leukemia and is a factor of poor prognosis.

[Mantle cell lymphoma diagnosis]. / Diagnostic du lymphome du manteau.

Recent classifications of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas based on combination of morphologic, immunophenotypic, and cytogenetic criteria have individualized mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). This clinico-biological entity which accounts for 3 to 10% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, now appears to be a biological and therapeutic model for the understanding and treatment of hematologic malignancies. The present study consisting of two cases of MCL collated at laboratory of hematology of Rabat Ibn Sina hospital. The morphological appearance of MCL is characterized by diffuse or nodular lymph infiltration in the mantle zone, the osteo-medullary biopsy shows an interstitial infringement characterized by the presence of lymphocytes resembling centrocytes with cleaved and angular nuclei, dispersed chromatin, inconspicuous nucleoli and scanty cytoplasm. The flow cytometry showed immunophenotype positive for surface Ig, CD19, CD20, CD22, CD79b, CD5 and cyclin D1, and negative for CD10, CD23 and CD25. In conclusion, the methods of diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of mantle cell lymphoma are based on the nodular, medullary and blood morphology, the immunophenotypic, cytogenetic and molecular study of neoplastic cells.