HELLP syndrome: laboratory parameters and clinical course in four patients treated with plasma exchange.

We report our apheresis department's experience with four patients with HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) syndrome. The average age of the patients was 23.25 years (range 19-27). Three were in their second pregnancy while one was a primigravida. All had symptoms of pre-eclampsia prior to delivery. All experienced the syndrome postpartum. Plasma exchange was instituted an average of 3.25 days postpartum (range 1.08-7.33 days). All underwent plasmapheresis with fresh frozen plasma replacement. The average number of plasma exchange treatments was four (range 1-8). The first laboratory parameter to reach its peak/nadir was the aspartate aminotransferase (AST), followed by the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme level, followed by the hemoglobin (HGB) level, and, finally, the platelet count (PLT). The AST was the first parameter to peak and the first to normalize. In the three cases in which more than one plasmapheresis procedure was performed, plasmapheresis was required for an average of 98 hours (range 39-206 hours) after a normal AST level was obtained in order to achieve a self-sustaining platelet count of > or = 100 x 10(9)/L. No additional exchanges were required to maintain the PLT once a PLT of over 100 x 10(9)/L was attained. The laboratory values normalized in the following order: AST, HGB, PLT, and LDH. Three patients were discharged anemic. One was discharged with a normal LDH level. By our experience, awaiting normal LDH levels as an indicator for cessation of plasma exchange therapy would mean subjecting the patients to many unnecessary procedures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

National acceptability of American Association of Blood Banks Pediatric Hemotherapy Committee guidelines for auditing pediatric transfusion practices.

In 1989, guidelines for the auditing of pediatric transfusion practices were developed by the Pediatric Hemotherapy Committee of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and made available to AABB members. A survey of members who requested the guidelines was conducted to determine how consistent the guidelines were with local transfusion practices and how useful they were for the conduct of audits. The majority of respondents indicated that the recommended audit criteria agreed with local practices and that most of them could be applied to their transfusion practice audits with little or no modification. An exception was that criteria for the transfusion of platelets to premature infants were considered by some to be too liberal. However, after review of the comments and the published information available, the committee elected not to revise the guidelines pertaining to platelet transfusions for premature infants. Bearing in mind that audit criteria are intended to identify circumstances in which transfusions are acceptable as reasonable therapy without need for further justification, rather than to serve as indications for transfusions, the AABB Pediatric Hemotherapy Committee guidelines for auditing pediatric transfusion practices are fairly representative of national practice.

Procedural errors in antibody identification.

In experimental studies of students and line technologists performing antibody identification procedures, both groups made errors. These errors included, at times, either failing to identify an antibody or misidentifying the specficity(ies)A. prospective study was undertaken to identify errors made in a laboratory setting. Errors were classified as 1) failing to follow protocol (procedural error) or 2) arriving at the wrong answer (misidentification error). Over a 1-year period, 1,057 workups were reviewed. There were 41 (3.88%) procedural errors and no misidentification errors. In 25 workups (61% of errors), the selection of cells m rule out underlying alloantibody(ies) was in error. The remaining 16 involved various "slips" (minor mistakes or memory lapses) and clerical errors. Based on an analysis of the probable causes of these errors, potential solutions include 1) developing computer aids to detect "rule-out" errors or missing tests results; 2) providing timely, careful review of workups before transfusion; and 3) designing better panel layout and cell selection.