Current opinion in hematology
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Transfusion, in the setting of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, can be a complicated and potentially dangerous proposition. ⋯ In this article, we will review the most recent developments in the transfusion management of patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, specifically focusing on published articles between the period of May 2002 to April 2003.
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Curr. Opin. Hematol. · Nov 2003
ReviewRisk and prevention of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis and other tick-borne diseases.
Tick-borne diseases have increasingly been recognized in the United States as public health problems. The importance of tick-borne diseases has been accelerated by increases in animal populations, as well as increased human recreation in wooded environments that are conducive to tick bites. Babesiosis, usually caused by the intraerythrocytic parasite, Babesia microti and transmitted by the same tick as Lyme disease, has important transfusion implications. Although Lyme disease has not been reported from blood transfusion, newly identified tick-borne diseases such as ehrlichiosis raise additional questions about the role of the tick in transfusion-transmitted diseases. ⋯ In endemic areas transfusion-transmitted babesiosis is more prevalent than usually believed. The extension of the geographic range of various Babesia spp. and the movement of donors and blood products around the United States has resulted in the risk extending to non-endemic areas. Clinicians should maintain a high degree of clinical suspicion for transfusion-transmitted babesiosis.