Haematologica
-
Conventional endoscopic and radiographic methods fail to identify a probable source of gastrointestinal blood loss in about one third of males and post-menopausal females and in most women of reproductive age with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Such patients, as well as subjects refractory to oral iron treatment, are often referred for hematologic evaluation. ⋯ The recognition that autoimmune atrophic gastritis and H. pylori infection may have a significant role in the development of unexplained or refractory IDA in a high proportion of patients should have a strong impact on our daily practice of diagnosing and managing IDA.
-
The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) concerning the efficacy and safety of medical or surgical treatments of superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). ⋯ Treatment with a therapeutic or prophylactic dose of LMWH or a NSAID reduces the incidence of SVT extension or recurrence, but not VTE. More RCT are needed before any evidence-based recommendations on the treatment of SVT for the prevention of VTE can be given. With the present lack of solid evidence we would suggest treating patients with at least intermediate doses of LMWH.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Filgrastim-mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells versus bone marrow transplantation for treating leukemia: 3-year results from the EBMT randomized trial.
Allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) are now widely used as the source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation. However, it is still not clear which patients should receive mobilized PBPC or bone marrow cells to reconstitute hematopoiesis after myeloablative conditioning. The aim of this study is to present 3-year-follow-up data on outcome (incidence and severity of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) after a PBPC transplant (PBPCT) or a bone marrow transplant (BMT). ⋯ Patients transplanted with PBPC from an HLA-identical sibling develop more chronic GvHD than those transplanted with bone marrow, but the final impact of this difference is unclear. Longer follow-up is necessary to characterize the impact of chronic GvHD on quality of life, leukemia-free survival and overall survival.