Transfusion-associated circulatory overload in Ireland: a review of cases reported to the National Haemovigilance Office 2000 to 2010.

Background: Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is an increasingly reported condition but symptoms and signs are still unrecognized. We present a review of the incidence and clinical features of TACO reported to the National Haemovigilance Office at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.

Study Design And Methods: Between 2000 and 2010, a total of 1071 cases of serious transfusion-related reactions were reported, of which 221 (21%) cases were TACO.

Chronic hepatitis C infection and sicca syndrome: a clear association with HLA DQB1*02.

Background: Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of nonA, nonB hepatitis worldwide. A high prevalence of immunological abnormalities has been shown to occur in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the development of sicca syndrome in a cohort of patients infected with a single strain of hepatitis C virus, namely genotype 1b, and correlate this with viral persistence and human leukocyte antigen type of the patients.

The value of autofluorescence as a diagnostic feature of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Autofluorescence is an immunophenotypic characteristic of leukemic blasts in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We examined the fluorescent intensity of isotype controls in 25 cases of APML and 25 controls with acute myeloid leukemia. The fluorescence of the FITC- and PE-conjugated controls was consistently higher in APML.

Modelling infectious disease transmission with complex exposure pattern and sparse outcome data.

We present a regression modelling framework to analyse infectious disease transmission during a time period where extensive exposure data are available, but where the outcome data are sparse. A latent variable model is used for each exposure time, allowing a straight-forward accumulation of risk for a collection of exposures for which outcome data are available. We describe an analysis of HIV infection from blood products among a cohort of haemophiliacs in Ireland between 1980 and 1985.

Distinct MHC class I and II alleles are associated with hepatitis C viral clearance, originating from a single source.

The role of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, restricted by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles, is recognized as highly significant in the successful clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The frequency of class I alleles in females inoculated with HCV genotype 1b from a single source was examined for an association with outcome. Class I typing was performed using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers in 227 female subjects: 141 had chronic infection and 86 had viral clearance.

Outcome of an optional HCV screening program for blood transfusion recipients in Ireland.

Background: An optional (general) HCV testing program for blood and blood component recipients before the introduction of routine donor anti-HCV screening (October 1991) was launched in Ireland in 1995 to complement the targeted lookback program in progress at that time and to identify transfusion-transmitted hepatitis C.

Study Design And Methods: The public were informed of the opportunity to avail of screening by widespread media coverage. Screening was by an initial ELISA (Abbott 3.