Thirty-day typing and screening for patients undergoing elective surgery: experience at a large cancer center.

Background: Preoperative testing in patients scheduled to undergo surgery often includes determining the ABO group and Rh type and screening for atypical alloantibodies in blood samples. AABB recommends obtaining blood samples within 3 days of transfusion. This was extended to 30 days to minimize the number of phlebotomies, avoid delays in providing blood during surgery, and decrease the laboratory workload.

Transfusion of RhD-incompatible blood components in RhD-negative blood marrow transplant recipients.

Background: Transfusion-dependent bone marrow transplant recipients are routinely transfused with ABO group and RhD-compatible blood components. However, because of the scarcity of RhD-negative blood components, particularly platelets, a policy was developed to transfuse RhD-positive blood components to RhD-negative patients during periods of shortage.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 78 RhD-negative patients with hematologic malignancies who received RhD-negative bone marrow and/or peripheral blood stem cells, from June 1995 to August 2000.

Underreporting of minor transfusion reactions in cancer patients.

Background: Minor adverse reactions following transfusion of blood components to cancer patients are not uncommon. Reporting these minor reactions to the transfusion service needs a careful evaluation. The objectives of this study were to closely monitor the transfusion reactions that occurred and had not been reported to the transfusion service and to evaluate the process by which the medical and nursing staff recognized and managed these reactions.

Intraarterial platelet infusion for patients with intractable gastrointestinal hemorrhage and severe refractory thrombocytopenia.

Transarterial therapies used for the treatment of acute nonvariceal gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage have traditionally included vasopressin infusion and embolization. However, for patients with diffuse or multifocal hemorrhage and severe refractory thrombocytopenia, these options are suboptimal because platelet counts and coagulation parameters may not be adequate to allow for the formation of a stable clot. Herein two such patients treated with direct intraarterial (IA) infusion of platelets into the vascular territory supplying the hemorrhage are described.

West Nile encephalitis in 2 hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: case series and literature review.

Most human cases of West Nile virus infection are acquired via bites from an infected mosquito. In some cases, infection may also be transmitted by infected blood products or transplanted organs. There have been recent publications suggesting that chemotherapy and immunosuppression may increase a person's risks of developing central nervous system disease if the person is infected with the West Nile virus.

Transjugular liver biopsy in patients with hematologic malignancy and severe thrombocytopenia.

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to report experience with transjugular liver biopsy (TJLB) in patients with hematologic malignancy and severe thrombocytopenia and to determine the incidence of hemorrhage-related complications in patients with prebiopsy and pretransfusion platelet counts of 30 x 10(9) /L or lower to propose a threshold platelet count above which TJLB can be safely performed without transfusion.

Materials And Methods: Medical records and laboratory reports of 50 patients with severe thrombocytopenia who had undergone 51 TJLB procedures and prebiopsy platelet transfusions between August 1999 and September 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Biopsy success and procedural complications were recorded.

Safety and efficacy of transfusions of autologous cryopreserved platelets derived from recombinant human thrombopoietin to support chemotherapy-associated severe thrombocytopenia: a randomised cross-over study.

Background: The increasing demand for platelet products, and concern over the transfusion-associated risks of alloimmunisation and infections, have motivated a search for improved methods aimed at keeping exposure to donor antigens to a minimum. Transfusion of thrombopoietin-derived autologous platelets might provide an alternative strategy. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of this strategy with that of transfusion with fresh allogeneic platelets in patients with severe chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.