Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) is a rare (prevalence 0.2 -1.0 per 100,000 population) but a potentially fatal condition. Diagnosis of AIHA is based mainly on Direct Agglutination Test (DAT/Coomb's test). AIHA is classified into warm (optimal autoantibody reactivity at 37°C) and cold (optimal autoantibody reactivity at 4°C) types. Based on the presence or absence of an underlying cause, it...

We describe the case of a 74-year-old man with cholangitis, complicated by Clostridium perfringens septicaemia and massive intravascular haemolysis. Clostridium perfringens septicaemia is a rare but well-known cause of massive intravascular haemolysis. Here we review 40 similar cases published since 1990. Most cases involve immunocompromised patients with underlying haematological disorder (22....

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can lead to haemolysis and eventually to diseases such as thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia. Their action can be counteracted by the antihaemolytic activity of therapeutic agents. The aim of our study was to identify plants that most efficiently counteract ROS-caused haemolysis. From ten plants known for their antioxidant activity (Orobanche orientalis G. Beck, C...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The occurrence of haemolytic colonies on blood agar often provides the starting point for the laboratory diagnosis of pyogenic streptococci, while non-haemolytic variants could pass unrecognised, leading to a failure of diagnosis. We report the details of two epidemiologically unrelated patients with bacteraemia featuring M-type 58 Streptococcus pyogenes, a seemingly rar...

AIM Epidemiological data suggest that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency may be a risk factor for diabetes. Also, the occurrence of haemolysis in the context of diabetes crises has been reported in patients with G6PD deficiency. A unifying hypothesis could explain these associations. METHODS We report two patients in whom haemolytic crises occurred soon after acute diabetes d...

Recently novel carboxymethylated pyridoindoles, analogues of the efficient chain-breaking antioxidant stobadine, have been designed, synthesised and characterised as bifunctional compounds with joint antioxidant/aldose reductase inhibitory activities with the potential of preventing diabetic complications. The critical property for the efficacy of the novel aldose reductase inhibitors in vivo i...

Glycerol and trehalose have been widely examined as protective agents in the cryopreservation of red blood cells (RBCs). However, the effectiveness of these reagents alone on cell viability is moderate. Here, the addition of salidroside attenuated oxidative damage of sheep RBCs prior to and post cryostorage. The supplementation of salidroside to the cryopreservation media containing 10% glycero...

INTRODUCTION Previously undiagnosed glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency can be unmasked by a diabetic crisis and both can be associated with rhabdomyolysis. The relationship between diabetes and G6PD deficiency is discussed and the possible triggers for haemolysis as outlined in this case report. The incidence of G6PD deficiency is 10% in African-American males and up to 35% in ...

A case of microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia associated with malignant haemangio-endothelioma is described. It is suggested that haemolysis may have been due to mechanical trauma sustained by the red blood cells on passage through the tumour's abnormal vasculature.

A newly diagnosed diabetic patient, recently started on chlorpropamide, required emergency admission because of sudden onset of weakness and syncope. In vitro testing confirmed the diagnosis of chlorpropamide induced haemolysis, and withdrawal of the drug resulted in clinical recovery.