Social Contagion of Vasovagal Symptoms in Blood Donors: Interactions With Empathy.

Background: Vasovagal reactions (VVRs) are commonly experienced in medical situations such as blood donation. Many believe that psychosocial contagion can contribute to the development of VVRs, but this is largely clinical lore.

Purpose: The goal of the present investigation was to examine the physiological effects of observing another experience a reaction, focusing on the potential moderating effects of empathy.

Donor screening question alternatives to men who have sex with men time deferral: Potential impact on donor deferral and discomfort.

Background: Alternative screening questions could permit low-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood without a time deferral. We performed a study to determine the proportion of current donors who may be deferred by various questions and their comfort with them.

Study Design And Methods: Donors attending collection sites in Canada in January and February 2018 were offered one of two questionnaires but not both.

Application of new fetal growth standards in a multiethnic population.

Objectives: Ultrasound assessment of fetal growth is essential to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes. Intergrowth-21st developed international standards. Currently, we use in France chart based on Hadlock's formula.

Doppler Interrogation of the Femoral Vein in the Critically Ill Patient: The Fastest Potential Acoustic Window to Diagnose Right Ventricular Dysfunction?

Objectives: To report the use of common femoral vein Doppler interrogation as a simple technique to diagnose right ventricular dysfunction.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Cardiac surgical ICU.

Hyperventilation as a Predictor of Blood Donation-Related Vasovagal Symptoms.

Objective: Most of the research on vasovagal reactions has focused on the contributions of cardiovascular activity to the development of symptoms. However, other research suggests that additional mechanisms like hyperventilation may contribute to the process. The goal of the present investigation was to examine the influences of cardiovascular and respiratory variables on vasovagal symptoms.

Portal Hypertension Is Associated With Congestive Encephalopathy and Delirium After Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Venous congestion might lead to congestive encephalopathy after cardiac surgery. However, objective signs of congestion have yet to be associated with delirium. Portal vein flow pulsatility is a congestion marker that may identify a subgroup of patients at risk.

Revised international surveillance case definition of transfusion-associated circulatory overload: a classification agreement validation study.

Background: Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is a major cause of transfusion-related morbidity and mortality in countries with well developed transfusion services. The International Society of Blood Transfusion, the International Haemovigilance Network, and AABB (formerly American Association of Blood Banks), have developed and validated a revised definition of TACO.

Methods: International Haemovigilance Network-member haemovigilance systems (Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, United Kingdom and United States) provided cases of respiratory complications categorised by their systems, including clinical parameters listed in the 2017 draft definition (part 1).

The Role of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Monitoring in Cardiac Surgical Patients With Acute Kidney Injury.

The approach to the patient with acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery involves multiple aspects. These include the rapid recognition of reversible causes, the accurate identification of patients who will progress to severe stages of AKI, and the subsequent management of complications resulting from severe renal dysfunction. Unfortunately, the inherent limitations of physical examination and laboratory parameter results are often responsible for suboptimal clinical management.

Respiration and applied tension strategies to reduce vasovagal reactions to blood donation: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Whether produced by breathing too fast or too deeply, hyperventilation is common in stressful situations and may contribute to blood donation-related vasovagal symptoms. The effects of some previously tested interventions for vasovagal symptoms, for example, applied tension (AT), may be related to reduction of hyperventilation. More targeted breathing techniques might be useful.

Alterations in Portal Vein Flow and Intrarenal Venous Flow Are Associated With Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background Acute kidney injury ( AKI ) after cardiac surgery is associated with adverse outcomes. Venous congestion can impair kidney function, but few tools are available to assess its impact at the bedside. The objective of this study was to determine whether portal flow pulsatility and alterations in intrarenal venous flow assessed by Point-Of-Care ultrasound are associated with AKI after cardiac surgery.

Comparing transfusion reaction risks for various plasma products - an analysis of 7 years of ISTARE haemovigilance data.

Plasma transfusions may result in transfusion reactions. We used the International Surveillance of Transfusion-Associated Reactions and Events (ISTARE) database, containing yearly reported national annual aggregate data on transfusion reactions from participating countries, to investigate risks of plasma transfusion reactions and compare transfusion reaction risks for different plasma types. We calculated risks for plasma transfusion reactions and compared transfusion reaction risks between plasma types using random effects regression on repeated measures.

Extracardiac Signs of Fluid Overload in the Critically Ill Cardiac Patient: A Focused Evaluation Using Bedside Ultrasound.

Fluid balance management is of great importance in the critically ill cardiac patient. Although intravenous fluids are a cornerstone therapy in the management of unstable patients, excessive administration coupled with cardiac dysfunction leads to elevation in central venous pressure and end-organ venous congestion. Fluid overload is known to have a detrimental effect on organ function and is responsible for significant morbidity in critically ill patients.

The association between frequency of blood donation and the occurrence of low birthweight, preterm delivery, and stillbirth: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Women who donate blood on a regular basis are at high risk of becoming iron depleted. Iron deficiency anemia has been shown to increase the risk of low birthweight and possibly preterm birth. Therefore, there is a concern that regular blood donation by female donors might adversely impact the well-being of their offspring.

In vivo venous assessment of red blood cell aggregate sizes in diabetic patients with a quantitative cellular ultrasound imaging method: proof of concept.

Background: Diabetic patients present higher level of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation contributing to the development of vascular complications. While it has been suggested that this hematology/rheology parameter could bring additional prognostic information for the management of those patients, RBC aggregation screening is not included as a clinical practice. Most medical centers are not equipped to measure properly this parameter, although sedimentation tests can bring some indication.

Vulnerable atherosclerotic carotid plaque evaluation by ultrasound, computed tomography angiography, and magnetic resonance imaging: an overview.

Ischemic syndromes associated with carotid atherosclerotic disease are often related to plaque rupture. The benefit of endarterectomy for high-grade carotid stenosis in symptomatic patients has been established. However, in asymptomatic patients, the benefit of endarterectomy remains equivocal.

Initial amino acid intake influences phosphorus and calcium homeostasis in preterm infants--it is time to change the composition of the early parenteral nutrition.

Background: Early aggressive parenteral nutrition (PN), consisting of caloric and nitrogen intake soon after birth, is currently proposed for the premature baby. Some electrolyte disturbances, such as hypophosphatemia and hypercalcemia, considered unusual in early life, were recently described while using this PN approach. We hypothesize that, due to its impact on cell metabolism, the initial amino acid (AA) amount may specifically influence the metabolism of phosphorus, and consequently of calcium.

Transfusion-related acute lung injury in the Canadian paediatric population.

Background: The incidence of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) in adults is approximately one per 5000 transfusions. The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program undertook the present study to determine the incidence of TRALI in the paediatric population and to describe the characteristics and outcomes of children with TRALI.

Methods: The present surveillance study was conducted over a three-year period.

The etiology of preeclampsia: the role of the father.

Preeclampsia is often considered as simply a maternal disease with variable degrees of fetal involvement. More and more the unique immunogenetic maternal-paternal relationship is appreciated, and also the specific 'genetic conflict' that is characteristic of haemochorial placentation. From that perspective, pre-eclampsia can be seen as a disease of an individual couple with primarily maternal and fetal manifestations.

Use of hemovigilance data to evaluate the effectiveness of diversion and bacterial detection.

Background: Several preventive measures, including diversion of the first aliquot of blood and culturing of platelet (PLT) components, have been implemented to decrease the risk of transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections (TTBIs). We evaluated the effectiveness of these measures in Québec using hemovigilance data from January 2000 to December 2008.

Study Design And Methods: Adverse transfusion reactions were reported to the Québec Ministry of Health by transfusion safety officers.

Maternal body mass index at delivery and risk of caesarean due to dystocia in low risk pregnancies.

Background: To investigate the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) at delivery and the risk of caesarean section due to dystocia during the first stage of labour in low risk pregnancies.

Methods: Historical cohort study that included 6,949 low risk women who delivered at the Medical University of South Carolina from 1994 to 2004, presenting a singleton birth at term, and a vaginal delivery attempt by spontaneous labour. Women presenting large for gestational age newborns were excluded.

Long-term survival rate of pediatric patients after blood transfusion.

Background: Studies in adults report posttransfusion survival rate (PTSR) at 1 to 10 years of 41 to 67 percent. There are no published studies specifically addressing PTSR in pediatric patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate PTSR and risk factors associated with death in children receiving transfusions.

Petri net-based method for the analysis of the dynamics of signal propagation in signaling pathways.

Motivation: Cellular signaling networks are dynamic systems that propagate and process information, and, ultimately, cause phenotypical responses. Understanding the circuitry of the information flow in cells is one of the keys to understanding complex cellular processes. The development of computational quantitative models is a promising avenue for attaining this goal.

Transfusion strategies for patients in pediatric intensive care units.

Background: The optimal hemoglobin threshold for erythrocyte transfusions in critically ill children is unknown. We hypothesized that a restrictive transfusion strategy of using packed red cells that were leukocyte-reduced before storage would be as safe as a liberal transfusion strategy, as judged by the outcome of multiple-organ dysfunction.

Methods: In this noninferiority trial, we enrolled 637 stable, critically ill children who had hemoglobin concentrations below 9.

Generation of kinins during preparation and storage of whole blood-derived platelet concentrates.

Background: Leukoreduction of platelet (PLT) concentrates (PCs) may be associated with hypotension in recipients, and a role for bradykinin (BK)-related peptides has been proposed for this side effect.

Study Design And Methods: The concentration of BK and one of its vasoactive metabolites, des-arginine(9)-BK (des-Arg(9)-BK), was measured in a large number of PCs as a function of leukoreduction and storage duration with specific enzyme immunoassays and complementary techniques.

Results: On Day 0 of storage, kinins were detected in leukoreduced and unfiltered PCs at a concentration lower than 100 pg per mL.

Acute transfusion reactions in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Background: Acute transfusion reactions (ATRs) are probably underdiagnosed in critically ill children because associated symptoms can frequently be attributed to the patient's underlying disease. This study was undertaken to determine the incidence, type, imputability, and severity of ATRs observed in a tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Study Design And Methods: All transfusions of labile blood product administered to consecutive patients admitted to our PICU, between February 2002 and February 2004, were prospectively recorded.