Giant cell hepatitis associated with direct Coombs' test-positive hemolytic anemia is a rare condition of childhood and the pathogenesis remains unclear. An autoimmune activation and loss of self-tolerance in these patients may be the underlying pathology related to the response of some of the patients to immunosuppressive treatment. Herein, we report the clinical presentation and course of thr...

The main haematological manifestations seen in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are thrombocytopenia, usually mild, and haemolytic anaemia with a positive Coombs test. Owing to the shared characteristics with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, similar rules are followed in the treatment of these cytopenias. Two patients with severe aPL associated cytopenias, who required splene...

This study sought to elucidate the mechanism by which human red cells, in a variety of clinical settings, become coated in vivo with autologous complement components in the absence of anti-red cell autoantibodies demonstrable by standard methods. By means of a newly developed complement-fixing antibody consumption test, previously undetectable red cell-bound gammaG globulin could be detected an...

We report a case of severe hemolytic anemia following Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in a 29-year-old male patient who was treated with azithromycin. Direct Coombs' test was strongly positive and the cold agglutinin titer was high, with anti-I specificity. Antimycoplasma antibody titer by complement fixation was high 1:10,240. The patient was discharged after 12 days of hospitalization in good...

BACKGROUND The Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot (JSSF) is developing a QOL questionnaire instrument for use in pathological conditions related to the foot and ankle. The main body of the outcome instrument (the Self-Administered Foot Evaluation Questionnaire, SAFE-Q version 2) consists of 34 questionnaire items, which provide five subscale scores (1: Pain and Pain-Related; 2: Physical F...

Gell and Coombs classified hypersensitivity reactions into four 'types'. I suggest that the premise that these reactions represent 'hypersensitivity' manifestations is limiting and that they represent four major strategies that the body uses to combat infectious agents. I further propose that there is a fifth strategy that was not envisioned in the Gell and Coombs classification.

0.1% Protamine sulphate in normal (0.85% w/v) saline has been used as a diluent in Brucella serology instead of saline as such. The use of protamine sulphate in this concentration has obviated the need for performing the modified Coombs test to detect non-agglutinating Brucella antibodies. This method has been used in the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit of the University of Melbourne in the rou...

AIM Until now, there has been no universally accepted and validated measure of breast cancer awareness. This study aimed to validate the new Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (BCAM) which assesses, using a self-complete questionnaire, knowledge of breast cancer symptoms and age-related risk, and frequency of breast checking. METHODS We measured the psychometric properties of the BCAM in 1035 wo...