Simulation in the field of transfusion medicine: Scope and utility.

Simulation in medical education has made significant inroads in most of the specialties in some form or the other. Transfusion medicine, as a branch, being a new specialty, is imbibing a few things from the world of simulation and provides immense scope for its utilization, given its broad applicability as well as necessity. In the current Indian scenario of transfusion medicine, wherein the transfusion process has undergone significant changes involving critical steps, with fewer but can be serious complications arising due to the transfusion process, it is desirable for students and the staff involved to practice on the simulators to attain the desired level of competency as it allows the practice of hands-on invasive procedures before performing the actual process.

Audit-based corrective and preventive actions to reduce wastage of blood components at a single blood center: A quality improvement study.

Introduction: The rate of discarded blood components or "wastage rate" reflects on the whole process, preparation, and production of blood and its quality control. It is the ratio of blood and blood components discarded to the total number of collections. The discard or unusability of blood products are many, and the ones that can be monitored and regarded as indicators to be improvised on are QC failure rate, transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) positivity, and component discards (other than TTI), including those that caused transfusion reactions.

Effect of fetal distress on viability and yield of umbilical cord blood stem cells-a prospective comparative study.

Introduction: Different factors affect the quality and viability of cord blood stem cells, and therefore the efficacy of umbilical cord stem cell transplantation. Fetal distress is one factor affecting the quantity of CD34 cells in cord blood. This study was designed to compare the viability and yield of the umbilical cord blood stem cells of women who have undergone emergency lower segment caesarean section for fetal distress or for other causes.

Evaluation of a scoring system for vein suitability in platelet apheresis donors.

Introduction: Donor vein assessment for the selection of good quality veins is crucial for a successful apheresis procedure. This study intends to find out the effectiveness of a vein assessment scoring tool (VST) used and found to be effective in selecting whole blood donors to reduce the difficulty in identifying good quality veins for the plateletpheresis procedure.

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective observational study on platelet apheresis donors with the application of a VST consisting of three vein descriptor parameters (vein visibility, vein palpability, and vein size) with 5 Likert-type responses constituting a score of 0-12 for each arm.

Blood component therapy in patients having massive obstetric hemorrhage in a tertiary care center in Puducherry.

Introduction: A proper transfusion protocol must be followed for every patient with massive obstetric hemorrhage (MOH), as each patient may need a different pattern of transfusion support. In this background, it is prudent to understand the current prevalent practices and devise preparatory strategies for managing blood requirements during such scenarios. This study helps us know the pattern and type of blood components given to patients with MOHs.

Quality assessment of platelet concentrates prepared by platelet-rich plasma, buffy-coat, and apheresis methods in a tertiary care hospital in South India: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: In blood banking and transfusion medicine, it is of paramount importance to improve transfusion safety and provide a higher quality of product to maximize the therapeutic outcomes and minimize the risk of developing transfusion-associated complications for patients receiving a blood transfusion.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of transfusion medicine in a tertiary care hospital of South India from February 2019 to December 2020. The primary objective of the study was to assess the quality of platelet concentrates (PC) prepared by platelet-rich plasma (PRP), buffy-coat (BC), and apheresis method.

Transfusion reactions in neonates and pediatrics: How and why are they different?

Neonates and children are physically as well as physiologically different from adults. They are immunologically vulnerable, and the effects of transfusion can be longstanding, including with respect to their development. The transfusion reactions in children differ from those in adults in the type of reactions, incidence, and severity.

Clinical significant anti-P1 antibody with wide thermal amplitude: A tale of successful blood management.

The P blood group system was introduced in 1927 by Landsteiner and Levine. About 75% of the population possesses P1 phenotype. P2 simply implies P1 negative and there is no P2 antigen.

Feasibility of high-yield plateletpheresis in routine practice: Experience from tertiary health center from South India.

Background And Objectives: High-yield plateletpheresis donations can reduce donor exposure and be economically beneficial as well. However, obtaining a high-yield plateletpheresis from a maximum number of donors with low basal platelet count and its effect on postdonation platelet count of donors undergoing high-yield plateletpheresis has been a matter of concern. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of making high-yield platelet donation as a routine practice.

Optimising platelet usage during the induction therapy of acute myeloid leukaemia: Impact of physician education.

Introduction: Platelet products are scarce and expensive resources to be used judiciously. However, inappropriate usage is common. Lack of physician awareness is an important issue.

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia in Children: Clinical Profile and Outcome.

Objective: To discover the common triggers for AIHA in children, their clinical profile, treatment response, and outcome.

Methods: This was an ambispective descriptive study conducted between 2013 and 2020. Children aged 1 mo to 14 y with hemolytic anemia and a positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) were included.

Management of Bombay Rh negative with clinically significant anti-S for CABG surgery.

The Bombay Rh D negative is the rarest of the rare in blood groups. A 65-year-old male patient with coronary artery disease was admitted for CABG. During grouping, forward showed no agglutination in A, B, D, and H, and reverse showed agglutination in A, B, and O cell.

Assessment of iron status in regular blood donors in a tertiary care hospital in Southern India.

Background: Regular blood donation depletes iron stores. The assertion is that the vulnerable donor population requires a predictive standard operative procedure for early detection of iron store depletion, preventing them from developing iron-deficiency anemia.

Aim: This study aims to study the potential effects of blood donation in the regular donor group using hematological and biochemical estimation of iron status parameters.

Blood ordering and utilization in patients undergoing elective general surgery procedures in a tertiary care hospital: A prospective audit.

Background Blood ordering is commonly done for patients undergoing major elective surgery. Excessive order of the blood for elective surgery leads to wastage of resources, time and workforce. Auditing preoperative blood ordering decreases the cost of medical care by avoiding unnecessary cross-match without compromising patient safety.

Plerixafor use in autologous hematopoietic stem cell mobilization: Experience from a single center in Southern India.

Background: Plerixafor is used for patients at risk of Stem cell mobilization failure based on clinical factors or low peripheral blood CD34 count. It is also added upfront to any mobilization irrespective of risk factor, but the cost-effectiveness of the approach is an issue. Data on plerixafor in different settings of autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) collection from India are scant.

Factors associated with vasovagal reactions in whole blood donors: A case-control study.

Background: Vasovagal reactions to blood donation though generally mild and account for about 1% of donations, causes embarrassment/injury to the donors, lower likely return rates for future donations etc. The workforce hours devoted to attending to those who reacted can also affect the efficiency of the blood centre. There are various factors, both modifiable and nonmodifiable, involved in the causation of such reactions.

Effect of leukapheresis on pain reduction in leukemic priapism.

Priapism is a rare presentation of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML). It is also considered a medical emergency as delay in treatment may lead to impotence. Prompt medical and surgical interventions such as hydroxyurea, analgesia, phenylephrine injection and aspiration, open surgical shunting, and local radiation therapy are essential.

Red blood cell alloimmunization among recipients of blood transfusion in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Objectives: There is a varied prevalence of red cell alloimmunization being reported from different parts of India. This study aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of alloimmunization in India by performing a systematic review of the literature and to establish the most suitable antigen-matching strategy to reduce the red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunization rate among transfusion recipients.

Materials And Methods: A systematic search of all the original articles published in English on RBC alloimmunization among transfusion recipients from India in MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CINAHL and Google Scholar bibliographic databases was conducted.

Irradiating stored blood and storing irradiated blood: Is it different? - A study of serial changes in biochemical parameters of red blood cell units.

Introduction: Gamma Irradiation of blood products accentuates biochemical changes in the blood stored at 4°C. This study tried to compare the changes in potassium, sodium, glucose, lactate, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in packed red blood cell (PRBC) units irradiated at various time points and then stored versus those stored for a particular period then irradiated.

Methodology: One hundred and eighty units of RBCs were randomly assigned equally to be irradiated or not.

Prevalence of dengue NS1 antigenemia among healthy blood donors in a tertiary care hospital in Southern India.

Introduction: Transmission of dengue by transfusion of blood products has been documented, although the frequency of these occurrences and the level of viremia required to cause clinical dengue are unknown. The primary objective was to assess the prevalence of dengue NS1 antigen among healthy blood donors at our blood center.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Transfusion Medicine, a tertiary care hospital in South-eastern India, from February 2019 to January 2020.