Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of the FAB classification in acute leukaemia.

Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of FAB classification for acute leukaemia was assessed using the modified criteria of the FAB classification. Leishman stained peripheral smear and May Grunwald Giemsa stained bone marrow smears from 72 cases of acute leukaemia were used for this purpose. Cytochemical stains used were peroxidase, PAS and Sudan black B. Intraobserver and interobserver concordance/discordance was calculated. Kappa statistic was used to correct the chance expected agreement. Intraobserver and interobserver concordance was 76% which improved to 91% when cytochemistry was included. Lymphocytic/Nonlymphocytic concordance was 87.5% and 90% respectively for intraobserver and interobserver groups.

Hairy cell leukaemia. A review of nine cases.

Nine consecutive patients with HCL seen over a period of five years were reviewed. Male: Female ratio was 8:1. Median age at diagnosis was 49 years. Weakness and fatigue (66%) were the commonest presenting symptoms and splenomegaly (66%) was the commonest physical findings. Varying degrees of pancytopenia was the consistent feature in majority of cases. Diagnosis was made on the basis of bone marrow biopsy and characteristic EM picture. Forty-four percent of cases developed serious infection during their clinical course. Gram negative bacilli and fungi were the most frequently isolated organisms. Major sites of infections were pneumonia and septicemia. Splenectomy was carried out in four cases. Rapid recovery of haematological parameters without any significant complication was observed in all these cases. Two patients were treated with alfa-interferon. In both the cases recovery of haematological parameters was slow compared to those under going splenectomy. One patient treated with alfa-interferon died due to infection related complications while the other went into remission.

Slow thaw siphon technique for cryoprecipitate production.

The efficacy of the slow thaw siphon technique for making cryoprecipitate was evaluated. A hundred consecutive bags of cryoprecipitate were subjected to analysis. The average Factor VIII:C level in donors plasma was 1.02 IU/ml with slightly lower levels of Factor VIII:C in O group persons and in the older age group. The average Factor VIII:C content per bag of cryoprecipitate was 132 units with the average Factor VIII:C yield of 57.8 per cent. Recovery of the cryoprecipitates made by this method was tested in vivo in ten haemophiliacs with less than 1 per cent activity. An average increment of 1.91 per cent in Factor VIII:C levels was obtained by infusion of 1 IU/kg body weight.