Hematology
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Recently, due to inadequacies during immediate management of patients with febrile neutropenia, a new gold standard 'door-to-needle' time of 1 hour for the administration of intravenous antibiotics was introduced. ⋯ The overall median door-to-needle time was 45 minutes, which was in the accepted range. However, delays that occurred demand improvements like introducing 'red alert' policy for adult patients, counseling of staff and residents, identifying potential barriers in achieving the target time along with solutions, and developing hospital-based guidelines on managing patients with neutropenic sepsis.
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Review Meta Analysis
Preoperative transfusion in patients with sickle cell disease to prevent perioperative complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with perioperative vascular (SCD-related) and non-vascular complications. To minimize perioperative complications during elective surgery, either exchange blood transfusion or simple blood transfusion can be used. We systematically reviewed the literature and meta-analyzed randomized and observational trials comparing exchange transfusion to simple transfusion, as well as studies comparing preoperative transfusion to no transfusion to assess the relative risk (RR) and benefit of each strategy in sickle cell patients undergoing surgery. ⋯ Based on the current literature, neither preoperative exchange transfusion nor simple transfusion reduces perioperative complications in patients with SCD who are undergoing surgery; however, available studies were underpowered to detect a treatment effect.
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Thrombocytopenia is common in HIV-infected individuals and often requires a diagnostic bone marrow examination. Interpretation may, however, be limited due to the multifactorial nature of HIV-associated thrombocytopenia and the difficulty in assessing megakaryocyte function morphologically. The immature platelet fraction (IPF) is a parameter which reportedly reflects megakaryocyte activity, with an IPF >7.7% suggesting increased platelet production. The aim of this study was to correlate the IPF with the bone marrow findings as well as other clinical variables of interest in South African patients with HIV-associated thrombocytopenia. ⋯ This study investigates the role of the IPF in HIV-associated thrombocytopenia, and emphasizes the limitations of morphological analysis in determining megakaryocyte function.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A self-controlled comparative clinical trial to explore the effectiveness of three topical hemostatic agents for stopping severe epistaxis in pediatrics with inherited coagulopathies.
The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of localized treatments to persistently stop epistaxis in patients with inherited bleeding disorders. ⋯ ChitoHem tampon, the chitosan-reinforced product, was the best therapy solution to stop epistaxis. We recommend further research on the use of other hemostatic agents for localized bleeding in patients with inherited bleeding disorders.