Red blood cell transfusion in patients with anti-Yta.

BACKGROUND: Yta is a high frequency red blood cell (RBC) antigen, present in 99.7% of studied populations. It is extremely immunogenic, and when anti-Yta is present, provision of Yt(a-) blood is often challenging. The objectives of our study were to assess the incidence and severity of acute hemolytic transfusion reactions to Yt(a+) donor RBCs in recipients with preformed anti-Yta and to identify any patient factors associated with severe hemolytic reactions. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with anti-Yta identified by the Red Cell Reference Laboratories of the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood over the past 20 years were included. Their transfusion records were collected via the referring laboratory to ascertain if any patients received RBC transfusion and if there was any evidence of transfusion reactions. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients with anti-Yta were identified; only 12 were confirmed to have received a RBC transfusion. Nine received Yt(a+) or untyped allogeneic RBCs, including four patients who received a total of 16 indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) crossmatch incompatible, likely Yt(a+) RBCs. None of the nine patients had documented acute hemolytic reactions. CONCLUSION: There are limited published data describing the clinical significance of anti-Yta . Based on our data, it appears that transfusing patients with anti-Yta using incompatible crossmatched RBCs does not pose a significant risk of an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction when the antibody reaction strength is weak ≤2+ (0-4) by IAT crossmatch. For strong examples of the antibody, in the absence of other assay data, such as the monocyte monolayer assay, Yt(a-) blood should continue to be sourced where possible.

Role of bone marrow biopsy for fever of unknown origin in the contemporary Australian context.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow biopsy (BMB) is an accepted investigation in fever of unknown origin (FUO) to uncover haematological malignancies, such as lymphoma, and sometimes infections. With the advance in imaging modalities, such as 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to identify the focus of lymphoma, BMB may not contribute to the diagnosis when there are no other clinical features to suggest an underlying haematological disease. AIM: To investigate the utility of BMB in determining the cause of FUO, when there are no other indications for BMB. METHODS: Medical records of adult patients who had BMB performed for FUO or febrile illness from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2014 in four metropolitan tertiary hospitals in Melbourne, Australia were reviewed. Patients with other concurrent indications for BMB, known human immunodeficiency virus infection and previously diagnosed connective tissue diseases were excluded. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients were included in the study. Fifty-one patients had a final diagnosis for fever (systemic inflammatory diseases, infective, malignancy or other) while 22 patients had no diagnoses. In only 10 patients (13.7%) did BMB contribute to the diagnosis, finding either malignancy or granulomata. However, all these diagnoses could have been made without BMB. Two patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had normal BMB. FDG-PET was helpful in making a diagnosis in eight (25%) out of 32 patients. CONCLUSION: Performing BMB in patients with FUO and no other haematological abnormalities is of very limited value, and other investigations, such as FDG-PET, may be more likely to help establish a definitive diagnosis.

Revisiting acquired aplastic anaemia: current concepts in diagnosis and management.

Acquired aplastic anaemia is a rare, serious, immunologically mediated bone marrow failure syndrome, characterised by marrow hypoplasia of varying severity and significant pancytopenia. Careful attention and investigation, including molecular testing, is required to confirm the diagnosis and exclude other mimicking conditions, such as inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. In a proportion of patients, the disease evolves to myelodysplasia or acute myeloid leukaemia and in some there is an association with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. The disease has a major impact on patient quality of life. Haemopoietic stem/progenitor cell transplantation for eligible patients with an available donor is the only current curative therapy. Other patients may receive immunosuppression, most commonly with anti-thymocyte globulin and cyclosporin. An initial response to immunosuppression is often encouraging, but relapse is common. Supportive care, including management of transfusion requirements and infections, is central to management. Promising new diagnostic tools and emerging therapies will likely transform approaches to this important, chronic and life-threatening condition.

Prevalence and causes of preoperative anaemia in elective major surgery patients.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in surgical patients. Recent national patient blood management guideline recommended screening surgical patients for anaemia, particularly iron deficiency anaemia, without reference to the prevalence of anaemia or iron deficiency anaemia in this patient population. AIMS: To establish the prevalence and cause of preoperative anaemia in elective major surgery patients. METHODS: Patients attending the anaesthetic pre-admission clinics from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 prior to their major elective surgery in our institution were screened for anaemia and iron deficiency by measuring full blood count, iron studies and C-reactive protein. Patients who were anaemic were either further assessed in the haematology clinic or had their medical records reviewed to ascertain the cause of the anaemia. RESULTS: Of 1494 patients, 208 (13.9%) were anaemic, with a male predominance (70.7%); 57 (27.4%) of them had iron deficiency anaemia. Other common causes of anaemia include underlying malignancy (18.3%), end-stage renal failure (11.5%) and other chronic diseases (7.2%). In 53 patients (25.5%), the cause was unknown. Anaemia was most commonly found in patients scheduled for gastrointestinal surgery. CONCLUSION: Preoperative anaemia affects 13.9% of patients undergoing elective major surgery. The most common causes are iron deficiency and chronic diseases. The cause was unexplained in 25.5% of patients with anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia in different surgical specialties may have implications on the approach to screening, particularly in resource-limited areas.

Suspected acute hemolytic transfusion reaction mediated by anti-Di(a).

Anti-Di(a) can mediate hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, but it is unclear if it can cause hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs). To date, there has only been one report of a possible immediate HTR attributed to anti-Di(a). Our case report details an immediate HTR due to anti-Di(a) in a patient with pre-existing liver failure. This reaction triggered multi-organ failure, and the patient subsequently died. This case also highlights the importance of considering HTRs even when routine antibody screening has been unremarkable, particularly when electronic crossmatch is used, because of the potential for an alloantibody against a low-prevalence antigen.

Primary progressive aphasia: a case report.

Primary progressive aphasia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by deterioration in language function while other higher centre functions are relatively preserved initially. The diagnosis is made based on clinical presentation, linguistic testing and imaging, both functional and structural. Survival is similar to other dementias and the main form of intervention is speech therapy. We describe a case of primary progressive aphasia in a Vietnamese man with corresponding changes on positron emission tomography.

Improving patient blood management in obstetrics: snapshots of a practice improvement partnership.

Iron deficiency and anaemia are common in pregnancy. Audit data from our tertiary obstetrics unit demonstrated 22% of maternity patients experiencing a postpartum haemorrhage received a transfusion; a third of whom were anaemic on admission intrapartum. Australian Patient Blood Management (PBM) Module 5 Obstetrics guidelines focuses on maximising red cell mass at the time of delivery and reducing the reliance on transfusion as a salvage therapy to treat blood loss. A clinical practice improvement partnership began in February 2015 and completed in April 2016; which aimed to implement systems to improve antenatal identification and management of iron deficiency, and improve postpartum anaemia management. In order to develop change strategies, reasons for poor detection and correction of iron deficiency in the antenatal period were identified following a quality improvement methodology. Education was delivered to maternity healthcare providers. Standardised algorithms and an oral iron prescription handout were developed and piloted. Follow-up audit, staff and patient feedback, and other hospital data were collected to measure outcomes. The rate of anaemia on admission intrapartum fell from 12.2% in 2013 to 3.6% in 2016 following the introduction of unselective ferritin screening and other antenatal interventions. Sixty to 70% of maternity patients screened each month had iron deficiency. The algorithms aided staff to become confident in blood test interpretation and management of iron deficiency and anaemia. Patients found the oral iron prescription handout helpful. Additionally, single unit transfusions significantly increased from 35.4% to 50% (p=0.037) over the project timeframe. This project demonstrated the potential to improve patient blood management in obstetrics, reduce anaemia and transfusions by active antenatal interventions.