Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor: A Useful Marker for Predicting Mortality in COVID-19 Patients.

Introduction Efficient and practical healthcare based on prognostic indicators can reduce morbidity and mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) predicts clinical outcomes and respiratory failure in SARS-CoV-2 patients, but additional research is needed. Among other characteristics, we aimed to evaluate the predictive value of suPAR in COVID-19 patients.

Thromboelastography-Guided versus Standard-of-Care or On-Demand Platelet Transfusion in Patients with Cirrhosis and Thrombocytopenia Undergoing Procedures: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To determine the rate of platelet transfusion in patients with cirrhosis and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet counts <50 × 10/L) undergoing high-risk invasive procedures when prescribed by thromboelastography (TEG) compared with empirical and on-demand transfusion strategies.

Materials And Methods: This was a single-center, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Patients with cirrhosis and severe thrombocytopenia undergoing high-risk invasive procedures were randomized into 3 groups: TEG group, transfusions based on TEG parameters; standard of care (SOC) group, 3 units of random donor platelets before procedure; and on-demand group, transfusions based on procedural adverse events/clinician's discretion.

Topical Diclofenac for Prevention of Capecitabine-Associated Hand-Foot Syndrome: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is a dose-limiting side effect of capecitabine. Celecoxib prevents HFS by inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) that is upregulated because of the underlying associated inflammation. However, systemic side effects of celecoxib have limited routine prescription.

Cold agglutinin disease in childhood: a case series with review of literature.

Cold agglutinins are autoantibodies that target RBC antigens at temperatures below average core body temperature. They produce RBC agglutination and cold agglutinin disease (CAD), a rare form of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. Due to it's under recognition, there is a delay between the start of symptoms and the diagnosis.

Evaluation of Citrated Plasma After Thawing for Routine Coagulation Testing.

Objective: We aim to find the time in which a thawed citrate plasma sample that was preserved can be analyzed for routine coagulation testing without losing precision.

Methods: Whole blood samples from 30 healthy volunteers were collected in 3.2% sodium citrate vacutainer and centrifuged to separate platelet-poor plasma.

A Combination of Inflammatory and Hematological Markers is Strongly Associated with the Risk of Death in Both Mild and Severe Initial Disease in Unvaccinated Individuals with COVID-19 Infection.

Background: Inflammatory and hematological markers are used extensively for early prognostication and monitoring in COVID-19.We aimed to determine whether routinely prescribed laboratory markers can predict adverse outcome at presentation in COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective observational study was performed on 401 samples collected between July to December 2020 from COVID-19 positive subjects, admitted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India.

Filariasis in an alcoholic male-coincidental or causal association?

Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes that carry minute, thread-like worms. There are usually no signs or symptoms to be seen in patients with this disease for the most part. Some people, however, develop a condition called elephantiasis, which is marked by severe swelling in the arms, legs, breasts, or genitals.

Auer rods and faggot cells: A review of the history, significance and mimics of two morphological curiosities of enduring relevance.

Myeloid differentiation in blasts is distinguished by the presence of one or more needle-shaped crystalline structures called Auer rods. Auer rods manifest either alone or as faggot cells (containing bundles of Auer rods) in various types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN). Their presence largely portends a better prognosis in AML (as markers of maturation/differentiation) and upstages cases of MDS and MDS/MPN.

Medical postgraduate (MD) program in Laboratory Medicine in India: The Past, Present and Future.

A medical postgraduate course in the field of Laboratory Medicine for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree holders has existed for more than two decades in India, initiated and offered by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, which was created under the special Act of Parliament of India 1956. This course has recently been included in the draft of National Medical Commission's Post Graduate Regulation 2021 list of medical courses, and the foundation guidelines have been laid for other medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the country to start this course. This article, written purely in academic interest, describes the past, present and future of this postgraduate training program in India with an aim to answer several doubts regarding this unique and holistic course with a view to providing a direction to those who are willing to become a laboratory physician through this post-graduation.

["Nessuno vuole vedermi": è una battaglia persa contro una malattia tropicale trascurata?].

Riassunto. Le malattie tropicali trascurate (NTD) sono una serie di malattie che prosperano nelle comunità povere di risorse, in particolare nei climi tropicali. I fattori sociali, ambientali ed economici contribuiscono alla loro persistenza.

Assessment of Stability of Prothrombin Time, International Normalized Ratio, and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time Under Different Storage Conditions in Human Plasma.

Background In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of storage time and temperature on commonly performed coagulation tests such as prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in human plasma. Methodology Whole blood samples from 100 patients were collected in a 3.2% sodium citrate vacutainer.

Abnormal Chromatin Clumping in Myeloblasts Mimicking Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia: A Diagnostic Pitfall.

Abnormal chromatin clumping (ACC) in cells of myeloid lineage is a distinct morphological entity. It has been described mainly in polymorphs in haematological neoplasms involving myelodysplasia or myeloproliferation. We here describe a rare case of ACC in myeloblasts in an elderly man that mimicked chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Thromboelastography determined dynamics of blood coagulation and its correlation with complications and outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes abnormalities in the hemostatic system, collectively known as COVID-associated coagulopathy. The dynamics of clot formation are best discerned by whole-blood viscoelastic tests, such as thromboelastography (TEG). We aimed to assess the various abnormalities seen on TEG and explored the predictors of outcomes in these patients.

Trisomy 21, transposition of the great arteries and abnormal myelopoiesis.

Down syndrome is a well-recognised genetic condition associated with several comorbidities. Although CHD is common in Down syndrome, transposition of the great arteries is exceptionally rare. We describe a neonate with Down syndrome who presented with transient abnormal myelopoiesis and transposition of the great arteries.