1/274. Cryofiltration apheresis for major ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation. The barrier of ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation is the presence of anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the recipient's circulating blood. Double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) is usually used to eliminate those antibodies. We tried cryofiltration apheresis (CRYO) in 2 recipients. Patient 1 was a 45-year-old male with B, Rh( ). The titers of IgM anti-A antibody were only reduced from x64 to x32 by the end of 3 sessions of standard CRYO. Renal allografting was not performed. Case 2 was a 29-year-old male with B, Rh( ). CRYO was introduced for 3 sessions. The initial IgM and IgG titers were x128 and negative, respectively. The standard CRYO system was modified by temperature, treated volume, and filter pore size. The IgM anti-A antibody titer was markedly reduced to x2 after the final session of CRYO. The donor was a 56-year-old father with A, Rh( ). tacrolimus, azathioprine, methylprednisolone, and antilymphocyte globulin were used as the introductory immunosuppression therapy. ( info) |
2/274. Anti-G in a pregnant patient. BACKGROUND: Anti-G is a red cell (RBC) antibody of the Rh system. It has been described in pregnant women only in association with anti-D or anti-C; therefore, the ability of this antibody alone to cause hemolytic disease of the newborn is uncertain. One case in which this antibody caused no clinical sequelae is reported. CASE REPORT: The patient was a 35-year-old primigravida with type O, D-, C-, E-, c RBCs who was given 4 units of type O, D- allogeneic RBCs and 2 units of autologous RBCs 2 years antepartum. She was found to have anti-D and anti-C by an outside laboratory as part of a routine prenatal work-up. Further evaluation by our laboratory revealed the presence of anti-G and possible anti-C without anti-D. Titers at 22 weeks' gestation were 64 against r'r RBCs and 16 against R2R2 RBCs; these remained unchanged throughout the pregnancy. amniocentesis performed at Weeks 28 and 32 showed no evidence of hemolytic disease of the newborn. A healthy 3.3-kg infant was delivered at 36 weeks' gestation. Prophylactic Rh immune globulin was administered antepartum and postpartum. The infant's RBCs were type O, D , c C-, E-, and the direct antiglobulin test was positive. An acid eluate prepared from the baby's RBCs revealed anti-G. The total bilirubin was 5.5 mg per dL at birth, and the hematocrit was 66 percent. Total bilirubin peaked on Day 5 at 11.9 mg per dL, and no therapeutic intervention was required. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-G alone caused little if any fetal or neonatal hemolysis in this case. Although further study is needed, invasive fetal monitoring may be unnecessary if anti-G is the sole cause of fetomaternal RBC incompatibility. ( info) |
3/274. Use of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO-alfa) in a mother alloimmunized to the Js(b) antigen. erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone and the principal regulator of erythropoiesis in the fetus, newborn, and adult. EPO-alfa is erythropoietin manufactured by recombinant human dna technology (rhEPO). After counseling, a pregnant woman with anti-Js(b) in her serum was started on rhEPO (600 U/Kg, biweekly) to prevent anemia secondary to serial donations of her blood for fetal transfusions. After a total of 25 rhEPO infusions and autologous donation of 8 units of whole blood, maternal hemoglobin prior to the elective cesarean section at 37 weeks was 11.3 gm/dL. serum EPO concentration was determined in paired maternal and fetal blood samples, before ultrasound guided intravascular transfusions, in this alloimmunized Js(b)-negative and another Rh(D) alloimmunized pregnancy to determine possible correlations between maternal and fetal serum EPO. rhEPO prevented anemia in a patient who donated 8 units of blood from 18-37 weeks of pregnancy without inducing adverse biological effects such as hypertension or thrombotic complications in the placenta. Data presented in this study suggest that EPO does not cross the human placenta. ( info) |
| Aregeneratoric anemia (AA) occurs rarely after ABO-incompatible allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (alloPBSCT), and its management is generally difficult. Here, we present a 31-year-old white man with myelodysplastic syndrome who developed AA after receiving stem cells from his human leukocyte antigen (HLA) identical, but ABO-incompatible sibling. Because his anti-A antibody titers were high, therapy with conventional doses of erythropoietin and prednisolone failed to treat the AA. Following 8 cycles of plasma exchange and higher doses of erythropoietin and prednisolone as well as danazol administration, anti-A titers decreased, and his anemia improved significantly. In conclusion, to treat and obtain a low titer of antibodies in a patient with AA following an ABO-incompatible alloPBSCT, higher doses of erythopoietin and corticosteroids associated with plasma exchange have to be used. ( info) |
5/274. Delayed massive immune hemolysis mediated by minor ABO incompatibility after allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation. BACKGROUND: bone marrow transplantation with minor ABO incompatibility may be followed by moderate delayed hemolysis of the recipient's red cells by donor-derived ABO antibodies. This reaction may be more severe after transplantation of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs). CASE REPORT: A 16-year-old boy underwent an allogeneic PBPC transplant from his HLA-mismatched mother as treatment for acute myeloblastic leukemia that had proved resistant to induction chemotherapy. Transfusion of the unmanipulated PBPCs proceeded without any complication, despite the difference in ABO blood group (donor, O Rh-positive; recipient, A Rh-positive). On Day 7, a rapid drop in hemoglobin to 4 g per dL was observed, which was attributed to a massive hemolysis. All the recipient's group A red cells were destroyed within 36 hours. This delayed and rapidly progressive hemolytic anemia was not associated with the transfusion of the donor's plasma. Rather, the anti-A titer increased in parallel with marrow recovery, which suggested an active synthesis of these antibodies by immunocompetent cells from the donor against the recipient's red cells. The mother's anti-A titer was retrospectively found to be 2048. Her unusually high titer is probably due to prior sensitization during pregnancies. On Day 12, the patient developed grade IV graft-versus-host disease, which proved resistant to all treatments instituted and led to his death on Day 35. CONCLUSION: PBPC transplantation with minor ABO incompatibility may be associated with significant risk of massive delayed hemolysis. ( info) |
6/274. Severe hemolytic reaction due to anti-JK3. A 35-year-old gravida 3, para 3 Filipino woman with a negative antibody screen, no prior history of transfusion, and no hemolytic disease of the newborn in her children suffered a massive postpartum hemorrhage requiring transfusion. A severe hemolytic transfusion reaction occurred 5 days after delivery. Subsequently, a panagglutinin on a routine antibody identification panel was identified as anti-Jk3. The patient's red blood cell phenotype was Jk(a-b-) and all of her children were Jk(a-b ), yet the antibody that formed reacted with equal strength against all Jk(a)- or Jk(b)-positive cells. The rare Jk(a-b-) phenotype is more common in Polynesians. Anti-Jk3, like other Kidd system antibodies, is difficult to detect because in vivo production may be absent between provocative episodes and because these antibodies often show weak in vitro reactions. The increasing numbers of Pacific Islanders in the united states could result in more frequent encounters with this rare phenotype. Increased awareness of ethnic variability in blood phenotypes and of the capricious nature of Kidd antibodies can help pathologists and technologists deal more effectively with these cases. ( info) |
7/274. Sickle-cell disease not identified by newborn screening because of prior transfusion. erythrocyte transfusion can impair detection of sickle-cell disease, galactosemia, or biotinidase deficiency with newborn screening. We report on 4 infants with SCD in whom delayed diagnosis was associated with neonatal transfusion. In 2 cases, the initial newborn screening showed no hemoglobin S. In no case was the recommended screening >/=120 days from the last transfusion obtained. Two children had significant SCD-related morbidity before diagnosis. ( info) |
8/274. A case of IgA nephropathy after ABO-incompatible living kidney transplantation. A 39-yr-old Japanese man underwent living related kidney transplantation. Because the graft was ABO-incompatible, he was treated with double filtration plasmapheresis before transplantation and his immunosuppressive therapy was stronger than usual. However, immunoglobulin a nephropathy, accompanied by cellular crescents and necrotizing lesions, developed after 18 months. To our knowledge, the association of IgA nephropathy with ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation has not been reported previously. ( info) |
9/274. A case of ABO-incompatible renal transplant patient with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; long-standing observation of serial glomerular change by protocol biopsy. A 41-yr-old patient with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), before and after ABO-incompatible renal transplant, is reviewed using serial protocol biopsy. Although she recovered from delayed hyperacute rejection (DHAR) immediately post-transplantation, her graft function deteriorated gradually. A mild acute transplant glomerulitis, noted at the 155th day post-transplantation, progressed to pronounced chronic transplant glomerulopathy over 5 yr. In the specimen of the last biopsy, at 5 yr post-transplantation, glomeruli demonstrated an exudative hyaline lesion, which was characteristic of diabetic nephropathy in addition to chronic transplant glomerulopathy. Therefore, we made a diagnosis of this glomerular lesion as chronic transplant glomerulopathy complicated by diabetic glomerulopathy. Considering the result of this case, the protocol biopsy is a useful procedure to diagnose an accurate cause of graft dysfunction in individual cases. It is concluded that the protocol biopsy is apparently useful for the detection of various pathological processes occurring in allograft and may contribute to a strategy for improvement of graft survival. ( info) |
10/274. ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn: a unique constellation of findings in siblings and review of protective mechanisms in the fetal-maternal system. Two siblings born 6 years apart presented with similar findings of hepatosplenomegaly, dermal hematopoiesis, hemoglobinuria, and increased platelet consumption, but only moderate anemia and normal serum bilirubin. ABO incompatibility was identified, and other causes were excluded. A review of the current understanding of mechanisms that promote and prevent antibody-mediated hemolysis in the fetus is reviewed. Due to the low ratio of observed to expected significant clinical events among ABO incompatible mother-infant pairs, and the multiplicity of mechanisms that diminish hemolysis, we speculate that severe ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn occurs when there is a specific failure in one of these preventive mechanisms. ( info) |