INFUSION OF CONVALESCENT PLASMA IS ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS WITH COVID-19: A PILOT STUDY.

Background: The ideal treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 has yet to be defined, but convalescent plasma (CoPla) has been successfully employed.

Objective: The objective of the study was to study the safety and outcomes of the administration of CoPla to individuals with severe COVID-19 in an academic medical center.

Methods: Ten patients were prospectively treated with plasma from COVID-19 convalescent donors.

Outcome of Recipients of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants Who Require Intensive Care Unit Support: A Single Institution Experience.

Admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a patient who has been grafted with hematopoietic stem cells is a serious event, but the role of the ICU in this setting remains controversial. Data were analyzed from patients who underwent autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation at the Centro de Hematología y Medicina Interna de Puebla, México, between May 1993 and October 2014. In total, 339 patients were grafted: 150 autografts and 189 allografts; 68 of the grafted patients (20%) were admitted to the ICU after transplantation: 27% of the allografted and 11% of the autografted patients (p = 0.

[Exploration of biliary tracts for laparoscopy for treatment of choledocholithiasis].

Background: Common bile duct stones are found in approximately 16% of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. If the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis is made in the preoperative work-up it is a common practice to refer patients to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and endoscopic sphincterotomy. However, if the diagnosis is established during the intraoperative cholangiogram the surgeon confronts a therapeutic dilemma between laparoscopic common bile exploration, conversion to open surgery or post-operative endoscopic sphincterotomy.

Transcystic common bile duct exploration in the management of patients with choledocholithiasis.

Common bile duct stones are found in approximately 16% of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. If the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis is made at the preoperative workup, it is common practice to refer the patient for endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and endoscopic sphincterotomy. However, if the diagnosis is established during intraoperative cholangiography, the surgeon is confronted with a therapeutic dilemma-that is, the choice between laparoscopic common bile duct exploration, conversion to open surgery, or postoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy.

Non-cryopreserved unmanipulated hematopoietic peripheral blood stem cell autotransplant program: long-term results.

Background: Methods to simplify bone marrow transplantation procedures are needed mainly in developing countries.

Methods: Between May 1993 and February 1999 in a private-practice setting, we performed 29 autotransplants in 28 patients using non-cryopreserved and unmanipulated peripheral blood stem cells mobilized from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood by means of hematopoietic growth factors. The autografting procedure was performed entirely on an outpatient basis in 19 cases (65%).