1.
The effect of blood storage age on treatment of lactic acidosis by transfusion in children with severe malarial anaemia: a pilot, randomized, controlled trial
Dhabangi A, Mworozi E, Lubega IR, Cserti-Gazdewich CM, Maganda A, Dzik WH
Malaria Journal. 2013;12:55
Abstract
BACKGROUND Severe malarial anaemia requiring blood transfusion is a life-threatening condition affecting millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Up to 40% of children with severe malarial anaemia have associated lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis in these children is strongly associated with fatal outcomes and is corrected by blood transfusion. However, it is not known whether the storage age of blood for transfusion affects resolution of lactic acidosis. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of blood storage age on resolution of lactic acidosis in children with severe malarial anaemia and demonstrate feasibility of conducting a large trial. METHODS Children aged six to 59 months admitted to Acute Care Unit of Mulago Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) with severe malarial anaemia (haemoglobin<=5g/dL) and lactic acidosis (blood lactate >=5mmol/L), were randomly assigned to receive either blood of short storage age (one to 10 days) or long storage age (21-35days) by gravity infusion. Seventy-four patients were enrolled and randomized to two equal-sized study arms. Physiological measurements, including blood lactate, oxygen saturation, haemoglobin, and vital signs, were taken at baseline, during and after transfusion. The primary outcome variable was the proportion of children whose lactic acidosis resolved by four hours after transfusion. RESULTS Thirty-four of 37 (92%) of the children in the short storage treatment arm compared to 30/37 (81%) in the long storage arm achieved a blood lactate <5mmol/L by four hours post transfusion (p value=0.308). The mean time to lactic acidosis resolution was 2.65hours (95% CI; 2.25-3.05) in the short storage arm, compared to 3.35hours (95% CI; 2.60-4.10) in the long storage arm (p value=0.264). CONCLUSION Pilot data suggest that among children with severe malarial anaemia and lactic acidosis transfused with packed red blood cells, the storage age of blood does not affect resolution of lactic acidosis. The results support a larger and well-powered study which is under way. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov NCT01580111.
2.
Survival of transfused donor white blood cells in HIV-infected recipients
Kruskall MS, Lee TH, Assmann SF, Laycock M, Kalish LA, Lederman MM, Busch MP, Viral Activation Transfusion Study Group
Blood. 2001;98((2):):272-9.
Abstract
The appearance and expansion of donor white blood cells in a recipient after transfusion has many potential biologic ramifications. Although patients with HIV infection are ostensibly at high risk for microchimerism, transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) is rare. The purpose of this study was to search for sustained microchimerism in such patients. Blood samples were collected from 93 HIV-infected women (a subset from the Viral Activation Transfusion Study, an NHLBI multicenter randomized trial comparing leukoreduced versus unmodified red blood cell [RBC] transfusions) before and after transfusions from male donors. Donor lymphocytes were detected in posttransfusion specimens using a quantitative Y-chromosome-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, and donor-specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles were identified with allele-specific PCR primers and probes. Five of 47 subjects randomized to receive nonleukoreduced RBCs had detectable male lymphocytes 1 to 2 weeks after transfusion, but no subject had detectable male cells more than 4 weeks after a transfusion. In 4 subjects studied, donor-specific HLA haplotypes were detected in posttransfusion specimens, consistent with one or more donors' cells. None of 46 subjects randomized to receive leukoreduced RBCs had detectable male lymphocytes in the month after transfusion. Development of sustained microchimerism after transfusion in HIV-infected patients is rare; HIV-infected patients do not appear to be at risk for TA-GVHD.