Predicting Perioperative Respiratory Adverse Events in Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing.

Background: No evidence currently exists to quantify the risk and incidence of perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs) in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) undergoing all procedures requiring general anesthesia. Our objective was to determine the incidence of PRAEs and the risk factors in children with polysomnography-confirmed SDB undergoing procedures requiring general anesthesia.

Methods: Retrospective review of all patients with polysomnography-confirmed SDB undergoing general anesthesia from January 2009 to December 2013.

Anti-HBs detection: a modified passive haemagglutination assay.

Modification of a commercial haemagglutination assay for the detection of anti-HBs has reduced the test time from over one hour to approximately 25 min. increased sensitivity ten-fold without any prozoning, maintained specificity and reduced costs by 90%. The modification consists of diluting the reagent cells ten-fold; these are then added to dilutions of test serum in a V-well microplate.

Screening plasma donors for high-titre antibody to cytomegalovirus using a latex agglutination test.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause severe morbidity in immunosuppressed patients. Regional transfusion centres in the UK are required to supply high-titre anti-CMV plasma to the Blood Products Laboratory (BPL), now called 'Bio-Products Laboratory', for the production of specific intravenous immunoglobulin at the Protein Fractionation Centre in Scotland. For this purpose, 703 plasmapheresis donors were screened by a modified latex agglutination test to assess their suitability as donors with high-titre anti-CMV.