No deterioration after 13 years in a stability study of a rabbit brain, plain, thromboplastin, RBT 1010, in rubber-stoppered ampoules.

RBT 1010, a rabbit brain thromboplastin, plain, was prepared at the Thrombosis Reference Centre, Withington Hospital, Manchester, in 1989. The batch has been stored at -20 degrees C, in rubber-stoppered ampoules, for 13 years. The material was unchanged after this time. This was confirmed in a stability study, in which the reagent was used to test the prothrombin times of a panel of plasmas stored in liquid nitrogen, one from a normal volunteer and two from stable anticoagulated patients. RBT 1010 was also tested in calibrations, according to World Health Organization recommendations, against the reference thromboplastin preparations CRM 149S and RBT 90.

Use of recombinant factor VIIa (NovoSeven) in a haemophilia A patient with inhibitor in Kuwait.

Development of inhibitors is a known complication in some haemophiliacs receiving coagulation factor replacement therapy. We report on the successful management of a young boy with haemophilia A with inhibitor using recombinant factor VIIa. We had failed to control bleeding in this patient following his circumcision, despite infusion with high doses of factor VIII concentrate for 2 weeks. Recombinant factor VIIa is a useful 'factor VIII bypassing agent' for the control of bleeding in patients with haemophilia A and B who develop inhibitors. We suggest that severely affected haemophiliacs should be absolved of ritual circumcision as a protective measure against what might become a life-threatening haemorrhage - especially in those with inhibitors.

Erythropoietin treatment in haemodialysis patients with iron overload.

Erythropoietic response to exogenously administered recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) was examined in 11 maintenance haemodialysis patients with iron overload (IO). All had required numerous blood transfusions earlier (> 12 units/year). Diagnosis of IO was established by high serum ferritin (SF) levels (> 1,100 micrograms/l), high hepatic CT density (> 70 Hounsfield units; HU) and excessive iron stores in bone marrow aspirate (grade 6). None of the patients had osteitis fibrosa cystica, aluminium intoxication, haemoglobinopathy or haemochromatosis alleles (HLA A3, B7 and B14). All patients responded to rHuEpo treatment (target haemoglobin level of 9-10 g/dl). None of the patients required iron supplementation or developed 'functional anaemia'. During 30 +/- 3 months of therapy, the initial maintenance dose of rHuEpo (103 +/- 12 units/kg/week) and median SF levels (2,250 micrograms/l) fell (50 +/- 8 units/kg/week and 1,060 micrograms/l, respectively) (p = 0.0003 and 0.0007). The initial and final rHuEpo doses correlated well with the respective SF levels (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The maintenance dose of rHuEpo required for patients with IO at the start of the treatment period was significantly higher than that (50 +/- 5 units/kg/week) required by a control group of patients with adequate iron stores (SF = 100-600 micrograms/l) who were matched for age, sex and frequency of previous blood transfusions (p = 0.002). The findings suggested that excessive IO caused relative resistance to erythropoiesis on exogenous administration of rHuEpo and that iron supplementation was not warranted during rHuEpo therapy in those patients.