OBJECTIVE: To review the recent medical literature on the treatment of neonatal jaundice, focusing on practical aspects that are relevant to pediatricians and neonatologists. SOURCES: An extensive review of the related literature was performed, also including the authors clinical experience in this field of investigation. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Jaundice is very common among infants during the...

The management of sickle-cell crisis in a pregnant patient by exchange transfusion is described, the procedure leading to immediate and dramatic improvement in the condition. Partial exchange transfusion in three other patients with sickle-cell anaemia, judged by episodes of crisis in previous pregnancies to be at particular risk, is also reported and the value of this method of management disc...

BACKGROUND The National Hospital of Pediatrics in Vietnam performed >200 exchange transfusions annually (2006-08), often on infants presenting encephalopathic from lower-level hospitals. As factors delaying care-seeking are not known, we sought to study care practices and traditional beliefs relating to neonatal jaundice in northern Vietnam. METHODS We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional...

Polyhemoglobin (polyHb) is currently being assessed in phase III trials under various formulations. At present, none contain clotting factors or platelet substitutes to aid in hemostasis. We have prepared a novel blood substitute that is an oxygen carrier with platelet-like activity. This is formed by crosslinking fibrinogen to hemoglobin to form polyhemoglobin-fibrinogen (polyHb-Fg). This was ...

In this randomized, controlled non-inferiority trial, filtered sunlight was compared with conventional phototherapy for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia in term and latepreterm neonates. The primary end point was efficacy, which was defined as a rate of increase in total serum bilirubin of less than 0.2 mg/dL/h for infants up to 72 hours of age or a decrease in total serum bilirubin for infa...

INTRODUCTION The Italian Society of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohaematology (SIMTI) carried out a survey on the current use of anti-D immunoprophylaxis (IP) in Italy, on its ways of use and on the impact that it has had on decreasing haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), due to maternal-foetal incompatibility for the D antigen. MATERIALS AND METHODS The survey was carried out using a qu...

objective: it is a firm belief that blood transfusion is life-saving in many situations, but at the same time transfusion complications could be life-threatening. the possible effects of blood transfusion related immunomodulatory (trim) and its related mechanisms is one of the important debatable subjects in the field of blood transfusion medicine. one of the mechanisms through which transfus...

Very high bilirubin levels can have devastating neurodevelopmental effects on infants including hearing loss and cerebral palsy. A previous study in our institution determined the rate of, and factors associated with, bilirubin values above exchange transfusion level. Since this study the Bhutani nomogram was introduced to help identify infants at risk of severe hyperbilirubinaemia. In our stud...

A 15 year old boy with sickle cell disease developed intrahepatic cholestasis. A course of exchange transfusion successfully corrected the extreme hyperbilirubinaemia over one year. Upon stopping the exchange transfusion programme the hyperbilirubinaemia relapsed but transfusion was effective when reinstituted.

In eight patients with polycythaemia secondary to hypoxic lung disease 10 elective exchange transfusions were performed to reduce red cell mass, packed cell volume (P.C.V.), and whole blood viscosity. The rationale for reducing P.C.V. is discussed. It is concluded that patients with P.C.V. of 60% or over will benefit from exchange transfusion and that most patients with P.C.V. over 50% and true...