Background: Despite being the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States, Hispanic/Latinos (H/L) are significantly underrepresented among blood donors. A lack of proximal blood donation opportunities may be one factor contributing to these disparities. However, few studies have investigated this possibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) functions as a contraceptive method by inhibiting the secretion of gonadotropins, which prevents follicular maturation and ovulation, as well as thinning of the endometrium leading to unscheduled vaginal bleeding and subsequent discontinuation of DMPA. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of clomiphene citrate (CC) in stopping bleeding among DMPA users.
Materials And Methods: We randomly assigned 200 DMPA users using a computer-generated random numbers table in a 1:1 ratio to one of two groups; the study group, which received CC at a dose of 50 mg twice daily for five days (n = 100), and the control group, which received a placebo for five days (n = 100).
Introduction: Cardiometabolic diseases are associated with greater COVID-19 severity; however, the influences of cardiometabolic health on SARS-CoV-2 infections after vaccination remain unclear. Our objective was to investigate the associations between temporal blood pressure and total cholesterol patterns and incident SARS-CoV-2 infections among those with serologic evidence of vaccination.
Methods: In this prospective cohort of blood donors, blood samples were collected in 2020-2021 and assayed for binding antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antibody seropositivity.
Background: Feedback collated at University College London Medical School (UCLMS) during the COVID pandemic identified how many students felt unprepared for their summative Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) despite attending mock face-to-face OSCEs. The aim of this study was to explore the role of virtual mock OSCES for improving student's sense of preparedness and confidence levels for their summative OSCEs.
Methods: All Year 5 students (n=354) were eligible to participate in the virtual mock OSCEs and were sent a pre- and post-survey for completion.
Background: Chagas disease is a parasitic infection that can insidiously cause non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Given the largely silent nature of this progressive disease, asymptomatic blood donors pose potential blood transfusion risk. Blood donation screening has become an unintentional form of Chagas disease surveillance, with thousands of new cases identified since national surveillance was initiated in 2007.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The study aimed to assess burnout, resilience, and levels of depression, anxiety, stress and fear among community pharmacists during the pandemic, and examine if fear of COVID-19 is associated with these outcomes of interest.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in Qatar was conducted. Pharmacists' burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory: Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS™ for MP-Mindgarden).
In 2014, the bacterial subgroup of the Transfusion-Transmitted Infectious Diseases working party of ISBT published a review on the International Experience of Bacterial Screen Testing of Platelet Components (PCs) with an Automated Microbial Detection System. The purpose of this review, which is focused on publications on or after 2014, is to summarize recent experiences related to bacterial contamination of PCs and the use of an automated culture method to safeguard the blood supply. We first reviewed septic transfusion reactions after PC transfusion as reported in national haemovigilance systems along with a few reports from various countries on bacterial contamination of blood products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe second largest US blood center began testing for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) to identify potential COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) donors and encourage blood donation. We report the non-vaccine seroprevalence of total immunoglobulin directed against the S1 spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in our donors. Unique non-CCP donor sera from June 01to December 31, 2020 were tested with the Ortho VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV-2 total immunoglobulin assay (reactive: signal-to-cutoff (S/C) ≥ 1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the safety and therapeutic efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been extensively evaluated, the safety of CCP donation has not been explored in a multi-institutional context.
Study Design And Methods: Nine blood collection organizations (BCOs) participated in a multi-institutional donor hemovigilance effort to assess the safety of CCP donation. Donor adverse events (DAEs) were defined according to the Standard for Surveillance of Complications Related to Blood Donation, and severity was assessed using the severity grading tool.
See article on page 1471–1478, in this issue
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Efficiency in mitigating HIV transmission risk by transfusion may vary internationally. We compared HIV prevalence and incidence in blood donors across different jurisdictions in relation to those rates in the general population and differences in deferral practices.
Materials And Methods: Data from 2007 to 2016 were collected in Australia, Brazil (São Paulo), Canada, England, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain (Basque Country), USA (Vitalant) and Wales.
Background: COVID-19 safety measures and possibly SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing may alter blood donor demography, which has the potential to alter blood safety. We characterized pre-pandemic and pandemic rates of donor infectious disease marker (IDM) reactivity which reflect the residual risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) undetectable by current testing.
Methods: This cross-sectional analysis of allogeneic blood donor presentations and successful donations in a large national US blood collector identifies changes in self-reported behavioral risk factors and IDM reactivity.
Duodenal injuries occurring in isolation following trauma are rare. In the abdomen, blunt trauma usually results in isolated duodenal injuries than penetrating injuries. The signs and symptoms of such injuries are subtle which results in delay in seeking medical consultation and subsequent diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Blood donors, especially young donors, are considered a healthy segment of the population. We sought to identify medical issues that may warrant medical referral in young first-time blood donors.
Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed in first-time donors ages 16-22 who presented in a system of nineteen regional United States blood centres over 10 years.
Unlabelled: Risk assessments of transfusion-transmitted emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are complicated by the fact that blood donors' demographics and behaviors can be different from the general population. Therefore, when assessing potential blood donor exposure to EIDs, the use of general population characteristics, such as U.S.
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