Transfusion complications due to human error in thalassemic patients

While public focus is on the risks of transfusion transmitted infections, transfusion errors contribute significantly to adverse reactions. In this study we describe two cases of mistransfusion; two thalassemic siblings were admitted for monthly transfusion: a 19 year old boy and his sister. The donor whose blood donation was cross matched for the sister had a name similar to the brother; so it was wrongly administered to him that led to the hemolytic reaction. Another 2.5 year old boy with O[+] blood group received A[+] blood because of the staff error in recording the patient blood group and neglecting the crossmatch. The most prevalant complications of blood transfusion are due to human error. In order to decrease errors, it is recommended to double check the blood order form and the information on the blood bag

[Prevalence of G6PD deficiency among primary school students in Amol]

G6PD [glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase] deficiency is the most common enzyme deficiency in human beings. Using fava beans, some drugs and oxidant agents cause life-threatening hemolysis in children and other ages. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of G6PD deficiency and its relation to age and family history. This cross sectional, descriptive and analytical study was performed on 732 persons. Students aged between 7-11 years old were randomly chosen by cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed by SPSS. For comparing enzyme deficiency between two sexes and the effect of family history, chi square test was used. From 732 students, 295 were male and 437 were female. 11.2% of males and 1.4% of females were G6PD deficient that this difference was considered significant [p<0.0001]. Children who have G6PD deficiency, history of G6PD deficiency among their family members was significantly more [p<0.0001]. Due to high prevalence of G6PD deficiency as a threatening factor for public health in north of Iran, it is suggested cord blood G6PD screening be considered at birth especially in male neonates and the quality of primary health care and public information be increased by teaching

Severe haemolysis after transcatheter coil occlusion of a presistent arterial duct: a Review of three cases

Seventy five cases of persistent arterial duct underwent transcatheter occlusion using Cook's detachable coils at the Pediatric Cardiology department of the AFIC/NIHD, Rawalpindi Pakistan from April 1996 to Dec 2000. Three cases amongst these developed severe hemolysis. The coils were snared, using Microvena snares and the haemolysis settled instantaneously

Effects of different prosthetic heart valve occluders on the hemolysis of normal and sickle red blood cells

An in vitro study was performed to modify the conventional mock circulatory loop to evaluate the effects of different prosthetic heart valve occluders on normal and sickle red blood cell hemolysis. Under the same hemodynamic pressure and flow condition, the hemolytic percentage monotonically increased with the heart rates for all types of occluders. Compared to the caged-ball and unileaflet occluders, the bileaflet prosthetic heart valve occluder exhibited the lowest hemolytic level for all heart rates tested for normal and sickle red blood cells. For sickle red blood cells, the data indicate that hemolytic levels are influenced by the blood type rather than the design of the valve occluder. Caged-ball and unileaflet valve occluders demonstrated inconsistent hemolytic behavior over the range of tested heart rates; thus, the merit of one type of occluder over the other has not been established. The results also indicate that homozygote sickle cells are more susceptible to heart valve occluders than heterozygote cells