Reversing the effects of antiplatelet agents in the setting of intracranial hemorrhage: a look at the literature.

Patients are increasingly being prescribed antiplatelet agents (APAs) for a growing number of medical and surgical conditions. These agents are associated with an increased risk of hemorrhage, including intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). In the setting of warfarin use and ICH, strategies to reverse the drug effects have improved outcomes.

Risks and adverse outcomes associated with emergency-release red blood cell transfusion.

Background: Group O red blood cell (RBC) units are used for emergency transfusions and are often uncrossmatched when transfused. We sought to determine the risk of alloimmunization and identify acute adverse outcomes of this practice.

Study Design And Methods: The transfusion medicine database was searched for emergency-release transfusion (ERT) episodes from January 2006 through December 2010.

Clinically significant anti-A(1) in a presumed ABO-identical hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient: a case report.

Background: Subgroups of the blood group A (ABO) are generally not considered ABO incompatible for hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplant.

Case Report: A 54-year-old female presented for HPC transplantation for acute leukemia. No HLA-matched donor was identified, so she received a peripheral blood stem cell graft from an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor.

Plasma exchange as a therapeutic option in patients with neurologic symptoms due to antibodies to voltage-gated potassium channels: a report of five cases and review of the literature.

Antibodies to voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKC) are associated with acquired neuromyotonia, limbic encephalitis, and Morvan's syndrome. The antibodies are often not associated with malignancy and have shown good clinical response to immunomodulatory therapies. A record review identified five patients with laboratory evidence of antibodies to VGKC who underwent plasma exchange (PE) as part of their immunosuppressive therapy for neurologic disease.

Temporal sequence of major biochemical events during blood bank storage of packed red blood cells.

Background: We used sensitive spectroscopic techniques to measure changes in Band 3 oligomeric state during storage of packed red blood cells (RBC); these changes were compared to metabolic changes, RBC morphology, cholesterol and membrane protein loss, phospholipid reorganisation of the RBC membrane, and peroxidation of membrane lipid. The aim of the study was to temporally sequence major biochemical events occurring during cold storage, in order to determine which changes may underlie the structural defects in stored RBC.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen RBC units were collected from normal volunteers and stored under standard blood bank conditions; both metabolic changes and lipid parameters were measured by multiple novel assays including a new mass spectrometric measurement of isoprostane (lipid peroxidation) and flow cytometric assessment of CD47 expression.

The potential role of plasma exchange as a treatment for bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation: a report of two cases.

Bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation (BDUMP) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome associated with gynecologic malignancies in women and pancreatic or lung carcinomas in men. The clinical presentation consists of the rapid onset of decreased visual acuity due to bilateral serous retinal detachment and cataracts. Pathologically, there is diffuse uveal thickening and proliferation of uveal melanocytes.

Use of plasma exchange in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: a report of two cases and a review of the literature.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), which is characterized by thrombocytopenia and potentially serious thromboses, may develop in patients exposed to heparin anticoagulation. HIT is caused by antibodies to the heparin/platelet factor 4 (PF4) complex. Management of HIT involves discontinuation of heparin and anticoagulation with a nonheparin alternative such as a direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI).

The post-platelet 100,000 count: effects of platelet collection and future.

Currently, the majority of platelets transfused in the United States are collected by apheresis. The recent Food and Drug Administration guidance document published maintains that a postdonation platelet count for a donor remain >100,000/μL. During apheresis procedures, platelets are released from the splenic pool into circulation.

Lipid emulsion solution: A novel cause of hemolysis in serum and plasma blood samples.

Objectives: After several hemolyzed blood samples were received in the laboratory, we investigated lipid emulsion/TPN as a novel cause of hemolysis.

Design And Methods: Whole blood was spiked with lipid emulsion and TPN.

Results: Hemolysis was proportional to the amount of lipid emulsion present in whole blood, with less hemolysis occurring in blood gas syringes compared to vacutainer tubes.

Identification of anti-PP1P(k) in a blood donor and her family: a case report following her pregnancy and review.

Anti-PP1P(k) is a rare, biphasic antibody with the ability to cause immediate hemolytic transfusion reactions and early spontaneous abortions. The antibody is formed by individuals with the p phenotype. A blood donor with anti-PP1P(k) and the p phenotype was identified through routine donor screening.