Artificial intelligence and transfusion education, research and practice: The view from the ISBT Clinical Transfusion Working Party.

Background And Objectives: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been gaining increasing interest in healthcare. During the 2024 International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Congress, the Clinical Transfusion Working Party (CTWP) conducted a session to explore the exciting intersection of AI in transfusion medicine (TM) practice, education and research. We report here the potential applications and the session outcome.

An exploration of governance in teaching hospitals in the Netherlands focused on educational objectives.

Background: Many countries are improving medical education in teaching hospitals through more focus on internal quality assurance, for example by creating new stakeholders like hospital-wide education committees. Adequate oversight is thought essential to ensure the quality of medical education. How teaching hospitals distribute roles and responsibilities for quality control across educational stakeholders to organize this oversight is rarely investigated.

Association of clinical knowledge with patient care ownership among resident physicians: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan.

Purpose: Both clinical knowledge and patient care ownership (PCO) are crucial to the provision of quality patient care and should be acquired during training. However, the association between these two concepts is under-examined. Here, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to investigate the association between clinical knowledge and PCO among resident physicians in Japan.

A contentious intervention to support the medical workforce: a case study of the policy of introducing physician associates in the United Kingdom.

Background: Health systems across Europe are facing a workforce crisis, with some experiencing severe shortages of doctors. In response, many are exploring greater task-sharing, across established professions, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, with patients and carers, and with new occupational groups, in particular ones that can assist doctors and relieve their workload.

Case Presentation: In the early 2000s the United Kingdom created a new occupational role, that of physician assistant.

Aberrant acetylation caused by a CDYL splicing mutation contributes to thin mid-piece related asthenoteratozoospermia and male infertility.

Objectives: Acetylated tubulin is a hallmark of flagellar stability in spermatozoa, and studies have demonstrated the ability of CDYL to function as a tubulin acetyltransferase in spermatozoa. Of note, germline conditional knockout of Cdyl can lead to asthenoteratozoospermia and infertility in male mice. However, the role of CDYL gene in human fertility remains uncharacterized.

Sealing the breach: successful surgical management of post-myocardial infarction left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

Left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm, a rare occurrence, develops when a ruptured ventricle is encapsulated by the pericardium or scar tissue. Unlike free intrapericardial rupture, which often results in cardiac tamponade and fatal outcome, there are instances where the cardiac rupture remains contained, forming a pseudoaneurysm and averting immediate tamponade. We describe a 43-year-old male who underwent successful surgical repair of LV rupture following inferior wall myocardial infarction that resulted in the formation of a large pseudoaneurysm.

Developing Research-Oriented Health Professionals: Understanding Students' Perceptions and Needs for Extracurricular Research Opportunities.

Background: Undergraduate training in research principles is often mandated by healthcare profession regulators in Ireland to prepare graduates for higher specialist training. Students can be offered the opportunity to participate in extracurricular research activities, in addition to those embedded in the curricula. This cross-sectional study aims to explore student attitudes towards research and to understand their motivations for engaging in research-related activities and any barriers that might prevent them from doing so.

Safety and efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in neuromyelitis optica: A retrospective study from South India.

Introduction: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an idiopathic demyelinating disorder characterized mainly by optic neuritis and myelitis, causing gradual loss of vision and deterioration of neurological function. The underlying pathogenesis mainly involves antibodies against aquaporin 4. The effectiveness of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been shown by many studies across the globe but are only a few from India.

Minimizing the error in the hemoglobin estimation of blood donors as an articulate step toward donors' blood management.

Introduction: Hemoglobin (Hb) estimation in blood donors is conducted using capillary samples on portable hemoglobinometers, representing measurement methods in practice. The reference standard is conducted using a venous sample on a hematology analyzer, representing the mentor measurement method or the true value. The correction involves the calculation of the secondary adjustment factor (SAF) to mitigate the difference between the two values.

Syncopal reactions in blood donors: Pathophysiology, clinical course, and features.

Vasovagal syncope (VVS) in donors is a transient loss of consciousness due to short-term global cerebral hypoperfusion, which has a rapid onset and has complete spontaneous recovery. VVS may be triggered by pain, fear, anxiety, or emotional upset and loss of blood perse. It is an exaggeration of an adaptive response meant to assist in reducing the amount of bleeding/loss of blood.

The role of blood donation on wheels in the blood collection chain operational logistics during the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Background And Objectives: The blood collection agencies (BCAs) employ two major logistical modes of conduct for outdoor blood collection. First, the collection agency walks to the donor's preferred location for routine blood donation drives. Second, the drive is conducted using a heavy-duty vehicle having all the facilities for blood donation in it - Blood Donation on Wheels - hereinafter referred to as mobile blood drive (MBD).

Japan's Growing Public Health Crisis: Tackling the Alarming Increase in Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome.

Japan is experiencing a dramatic spike in streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) cases, exceeding the previous year's statistics. This life-threatening illness, caused by , has been connected not only to the relaxation of COVID-19 precautions but also to the prolonged effects of confinement and lack of contact with the surrounding environment/ecology. The condition is characterized by a sudden onset of symptoms, including high fever, rash, and shock, and demands immediate medical intervention.

Reflections on a Respiratory Therapy Postgraduate Certificate Program in Chile.

Chile is a South American country that spans 4,300 km from north to south. Population density and access to critical care are highly concentrated in Santiago's metropolitan region. After the educational challenges posed by the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, our critical care department at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago created the Respiratory Therapy Postgraduate Certificate as an educational intervention to address the shortage of healthcare professionals with knowledge and skills in performing respiratory support in critically ill patients.

Transfusion efficacy of leucoreduced packed red blood cells prepared by two different methods: A randomized controlled trial in transfusion-dependent thalassaemia patients (FUEL trial).

Background And Objectives: Great variations may be observed in the haemoglobin (Hb) content of packed red blood cell (PRBC) units prepared by different methods. This study aimed to assess the Hb increment in thalassaemia major patients transfused with leucoreduced PRBCs (LPRBCs) prepared by two different methods: (i) standard leucoreduced PRBCs (SLPRBCs) and (ii) leucoreduced PRBCs prepared by a new method where leucoreduction of whole blood is done first (NLPRBCs).

Materials And Methods: This prospective, randomized, controlled trial included 80 adult thalassaemia major patients who were randomized into two groups of 40 each.

Analysis of the growth trajectories of junior residents in Japan: a longitudinal cohort study using data from a nationwide e-portfolio system (EPOC2).

Objectives: As more emphasis is placed on the acquisition of competencies in medical education, portfolios are increasingly being used for evaluation. EPOC2 (E-POrtfolio of Clinical training) is an e-portfolio system developed in Japan and is used by about 800 clinical training hospitals. The study objective is to identify the learning trajectory of junior residents to provide insights into the provision of better postgraduate and undergraduate medical education in Japan.

Psychometric properties of the Fear of Birth Scale in women in the perinatal period: A multicountry study.

Assessing Fear of Birth Scale's (FOBS) psychometric properties in the perinatal period using multicountry data is a step toward effectively screen clinically significant fear of childbirth (FOC) in maternal healthcare settings. FOBS psychometric properties were analyzed in women in the perinatal period using data from Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal. FOBS' reliability, criterion (known group and convergent), concurrent, predictive, and clinical validity were analyzed.

Development, content validation and feasibility of a decision aid tool for the treatment of women with menopausal symptoms.

Introduction: Despite research supporting menopause hormonal therapy for menopausal women, its use continues to decline in most European countries and the United States. Experts highlighted the need for global assessment tools to assist clinicians in evaluating treatment for symptomatic menopausal women, which led to the development of the Menopause Treatment Tool, with separate versions for women and healthcare professionals. Both versions of the tool focus on menopausal symptoms, risk levels and suggested actions; the women's tool is administered prior to the consultation, while the clinician tool is administered by the clinician during the clinical consultation.

Global Disparities in Outcomes of Pregnant Individuals With Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Scoping Review.

Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains as 1 of the major contributors to indirect pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity worldwide and disproportionately affects marginalized populations.

Objectives: In this scoping review, the authors sought to explore the socioeconomic, cultural, and health care access-related causes of global disparities in outcomes of pregnancy among individuals with RHD.

Methods: We performed a literature search of all studies published between January 1, 1990, and January 1, 2022, that investigated causes for disparate outcomes in pregnant individuals with RHD.

Burden of rheumatic diseases among people with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) is a prevalent metabolic condition affecting over 500 million people globally and associated with serious comorbidities, including various rheumatologic conditions. Some studies have reported a significant association between rheumatological conditions and DM2. However, the global burden of rheumatological conditions among people with DM2 remains unknown.

Call to action for clinicians in the South-East Asian regions on primary prevention of diabetes in people with prediabetes- A consensus statement.

Primary prevention of diabetes still remains as an unmet challenge in a real world setting. While, translational programmes have been successful in the developed nations, the prevailing social and economic inequities in the low and middle income countries, fail to integrate diabetes prevention into their public health systems. The resulting exponential increase in the prevalence of diabetes and the cost of treatment has put primary prevention in the back seat.