Although positive direct Coombs' tests occur in most patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), haemolytic anaemic associated with antibody to erythrocytes (E) occurs in less than 10%. Our studies show an association between positive direct Coombs' tests and both the presence of circulating immune complexes and diminished activity of the C3b receptor (CR1) of E. Data presented in ...

Despite the rapid development of knowledge it still remains fundamental that mistakes within the ABO and Rhesus systems are responsible for virtually all fatal mismatched transfusions. It therefore cannot be too highly stressed that the careful preliminary grouping of the bloods of all patients for transfusion is of prime importance, irrespective of whether there is a previous record of their b...

FTER THE pioneer work of the French School in the study of acquired hemolytic anemia ( Hayem,’ Chauffard,2 WidaP ) , and the demonstration of hemolysins 30 years later by Dameshek and Schwartz,4 Boorman, Dodd and Loutit5 demonstrated the presence of a positive direct antiglobulin test. Thus, the immunologic origin of some of these cases has been gradually clarified, although many aspects of the...

BACKGROUND This longitudinal community study investigated the role of individual risk factors in early childhood (before age five) for the development of eating problems in adolescence. Nine hundred twenty-one mothers completed the first questionnaire when their child was 1.5 years old, and again when their child was 2.5 (n = 784) and 4.5 (n = 737) years old. Three hundred seventy-three of thes...

Questionnaires were sent to 37 diagnostic microbiology laboratories to assess their methods for performance of the serum bactericidal test. Of the 28 responding laboratories, 26 utilized the test, with considerable variation among methods. Culture and dilution media included Trypticase soy, Mueller-Hinton, brain heart infusion, Columbia broth, dextrose phosphate, and pooled human serum. Several...

A raised reticulocyte count is common in patients with immune or autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, and the result of the direct antiglobulin test (DAGT) is usually positive because of IgG or IgG and complement components on the red cells. We report on three patients who had low reticulocyte counts when they were most anaemic, and in whom no red cell autoantibodies could be detected by the DAGT. We...

An isolated IgA-mediated autoimmune hemolytic anemia can present a diagnostic challenge. When a routine direct antiglobulin test (DAT) is negative but clinical suspicion remains high, further testing with monospecific antisera should be performed. As with IgG-mediated WAIHA, steroids are first-line treatment, though splenectomy is often required to achieve a durable treatment response.

A 56-year-old Chinese lady with valvular heart disease and atrial fibrillation was referred to us from a private hospital for further management of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia. Physical examination and laboratory investigations did not support the diagnosis of haemolytic anaemia. However, direct antiglobulin test (DAT) was strongly positive with anti-IgG and negative with anti-C3d. There was ...

Ambulatory children and youth with cerebral palsy have limitations in locomotor capacities and in community mobility. The ability of three locomotor tests to predict community mobility in this population (N = 49, 27 boys, 6-16 years old) was examined. The tests were a level ground walking test, the 6-min-Walk-Test (6MWT), and two tests of advanced locomotor capacities, the 10-meter-Shuttle-Run-...

BACKGROUND A major impediment to the treatment of TB is a diagnostic process that requires multiple visits. Descriptions of patient costs associated with diagnosis use different protocols and are not comparable. METHODS We aimed to describe the direct costs incurred by adults attending TB diagnostic centres in four countries and factors associated with expenditure for diagnosis. Surveys of 22...