Subcutaneous administration of drugs in palliative care: results of a systematic observational study.

Context: Especially in palliative care, safe and manageable administration of medication is essential. Subcutaneous drug administration is a possible alternative, when oral intake is hampered. However, evidence for this method is rare.

Risk of hepatitis C virus transmission from an infected gynecologist to patients: results of a 7-year retrospective investigation.

Background: Currently, it is not known how often hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted from infected health care workers to patients during medical care. In the present investigation, we tried to determine the rate of provider-to-patient transmission of HCV among former patients of an HCV-positive gynecologist after it was proven that he infected one of his patients with HCV during a cesarean section.

Methods: All 2907 women who had been operated on by the HCV-positive gynecologist between July 1993 and March 2000 were notified about potential exposure and were offered free counseling and testing.

High incidence of maternal HLA A, B and C antibodies associated with a mild course of haemolytic disease of the newborn. Group for the Study of Protective Maternal HLA Antibodies in the Clinical Course of HDN.

Mild courses of haemolytic disease of the foetus or newborn (HDN) due to Rh (D) blood group antibodies are associated with and may therefore be ameliorated by maternal antibodies reacting with human leucocyte antigens (HLA) of the child, an observation drawn from our own earlier data (Neppert J, Kissel K. Lancet 1992;339:1481). This study (i) corroborates this association; (ii) reveals shortcomings in the published data; and (iii) examines the characteristics of HDN cases when these shortcomings have been rectified.

Unsatisfactory detection of an in vivo haemolytic anti-vel by the gel test.

Background And Objectives: A patient experienced a severe haemolytic transfusion reaction. Neither the haemolytic property nor the specificity of the causative antibody had been sufficiently recognised when performing a microcolumn gel test.

Materials And Methods: Subsequent to the transfusion reaction, the serological property and specificity of the causative antibody were analysed.