Profile of apheresis donors at Professor Alberto Antunes University Hospital of the Federal University of Alagoas

Hemotherapy services play a key role in attracting donors and providing safe blood to the population. The apher-esis platelet collection procedure is a relatively simple, safe and important procedure for increasing the stocks of these services. However, the recruitment and retention of these donors still represent a major challenge. Objec-tive: Evaluating the profile of donors of blood components by apheresis in the Transfusion Unit of Professor Alberto Antunes University Hospital - UFAL, as well as knowing the hematological parameters pre- and post-donation, the occurrence of the main adverse events related to the procedure and the difficulties faced by the donor. Method:This was a cross-sectional observational study. We analyzed a total of 160 forms of apheresis donors from March 2017 to June 2018. The data were tabulated using the Excel program, and then analyzed in order to determine the objectives. Results: Most donors were male (93.13%), aged between 25 and 40 years (48.75%) and brown (25.62%). There was a slight prevalence of singles (49.37%) and 73.75% were from Maceió. The most prevalent ABO and Rh phenotyping was O+ (39.3%). Most of the procedures were simple platelet collection (75.60%) and the occurrence of adverse events during donations was 30.63%. Conclusion: Evaluation of apheresis donor profile and the knowledge of the possible side effects related to the procedure provided a better understanding of this type of donation and may improve the capture and retention processes of these individuals, minimizing the effects of lack of blood for Alagoana population. (AU)

Os serviços de hemoterapia desempenham um papel fundamental na atração de doadores e no fornecimento de sangue seguro à população. No entanto, o recrutamento e a retenção desses doadores ainda representam um gran-de desafio. Objetivo: Avaliar o perfil dos doadores de hemocomponentes por aférese na Unidade de Transfusão do Hospital Universitário Professor Alberto Antunes - UFAL, bem como conhecer os parâmetros hematológicos pré e pós-doação, a ocorrência dos principais eventos adversos relacionados à procedimento e as dificuldades enfrenta-das pelo doador. Método: Estudo observacional transversal. Foram analisadas 160 fichas de doadores de aférese de março de 2017 a junho de 2018. Os dados foram tabulados no programa Excel e analisados para determinar os objetivos. Resultados: A maioria dos doadores era do sexo masculino (93,13%), com idade entre 25 e 40 anos (48,75%) e parda (25,62%). Houve uma leve prevalência de solteiros (49,37%) e 73,75% eram de Maceió. A feno-tipagem ABO e Rh mais prevalente foi O+ (39,3%). A maioria dos procedimentos foi de coleta simples de plaquetas (75,60%) e a ocorrência de eventos adversos durante as doações foi de 30,63%. Conclusão: A avaliação do perfil do doador de aférese e o conhecimento dos possíveis efeitos colaterais relacionados ao procedimento proporcio-naram uma melhor compreensão sobre esse tipo de doação e podem ajudar a melhorar os processos de captura e retenção desses indivíduos, minimizando os efeitos da falta de sangue para a população Alagoana.(AU)

LDL apheresis in the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia: experience of Hospital Santo António, Porto.

INTRODUCTION: High plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are a risk factor for the development of premature atherosclerosis. Direct adsorption of lipoproteins (DALI) is an apheresis technique by which LDL cholesterol is selectively removed from whole blood. OBJECTIVE: The present study describes our experience with DALI LDL apheresis in severely hypercholesterolemic patients. METHODS: Three hypercholesterolemic patients suffering from atherosclerotic complications were treated fortnightly by DALI apheresis, in a total of 308 sessions between December 2008 and January 2013. All patients were on the highest tolerated dose of statins and other lipid-lowering drugs. RESULTS: The sessions were essentially uneventful, adverse events being recorded in only 3.6% of them. A mean 63.3% acute reduction in LDL cholesterol was obtained. CONCLUSION: DALI apheresis proved to be a simple, safe and efficient method of lipid apheresis in hypercholesterolemic patients refractory to conservative lipid-lowering therapy.

Hemopoietic progenitor cell identification in fetal and adult blood / Célula progenitora hamatopoética: identificação em sangue fetal e de adulto

Hemopoietic progenitor cells give rise to all cellular elements of the blood and are of importance as a potential source of cells used for correction of various pathological conditions. The main objective of this study was to identify and quantitative hemopoietic progenitor cell in antenatal fetal blood, in cord blood at the time of delivery and in adult blood, using monoclonal antibodies to surface markers and flow cytometry. CD34+ cells, most of them probably representing progenitor cells, were detected in prenatal fetal blood as early as the 17th week of gestation. The proportion of these cells showed a tendency to decrease as the pregnancy progressed. Within the population of CD34+ cells, a relatively low proportion (less than 1 percent) were negative for the surface marker CD33 or HLA-Dr, indicating a population of primitive stem cells, i.e., progenitor cells no committed to a specific lineage. On the contrary, another group coexpressed CD33 or HLA-Dr, being more mature progenitor cells already committed to differentiate along a specific lineage. The percentage of CD34+ obtained in blood of adult patients after mobilization with chemotherapeutic agents and growth factors showed an average value of 2.7± 3.1 percent. The percentage of CD34+ in the apheresis products of various patients varied from 0.58 to 1.48. In some cases the cells were reinfused in the patient with good results. Our findings are in agreement with previous studies suggesting that CD34+ stem cells is a heterogeneous population, with each subset having variable degree o commitment to differentiate toward a specific cell lineage.

As células progenitoras hematopoéticas são as responsáveis pela produção de todos os elementos do sangue e são as potenciais fontes de células usadas para o tratamento de várias condições patológicas. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar e quantificar as células progenitoras hematopoiéticas no sangue fetal do período pré-natal, no sangue de cordão umbilical no momento do parto e no sangue do adulto, usando anticorpos monoclonais para marcadores de superfície e citometria de fluxo. As células CD34+ na maioria das vezes representam células progenitoras e foram detectadas no sangue fetal pré-natal tão precoce como na 17ª semana de gestação. A proporção destas células mostrou a tendência de diminuir durante a progressão da gestação. Dentro da população de células CD34+, uma proporção relativamente pequena (menos de 1 por cento) foi negativa para os marcadores de superfície CD33 ou HLA-Dr, indicando uma população de células primitivas, isto é, células progenitoras não comissionadas com uma linhagem específica. Ao contrário, outro grupo co-expressa CD33 ou HLA-Dr, sendo progenitores celulares mais maduros já comprometidos com linhagens específicas. A porcentagem de CD34+ obtida no sangue de adultos após mobilização com agentes quimioterápicos e fator de crescimento mostrou uma média de 2.7+/-3.1 por cento. 0 por cento de CD34+ no produto aferético de vários pacientes variou de 0.58 a 1.48. Em alguns casos as células foram infundidas nos pacientes com bons resultados. Nossos achados estão de acordo com estudos prévios sugerindo que células CD34+ sejam uma população heterogênea com cada subgrupo apresentando graus de comprometimento com diferentes linhagens específicas.