COVID-19 and hematology findings based on the current evidences: A puzzle with many missing pieces

In December 2019, a new type of coronavirus was detected for the first time in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. According to the reported data, the emerging coronavirus has spread worldwide, infecting more than fifty-seven million individuals, leading to more than one million deaths. The current study aimed to review and discuss the hematological findings of COVID-19. Laboratory changes and hematologic abnormalities have been reported repeatedly in COVID-19 patients. WBC count and peripheral blood lymphocytes are normal or slightly reduced while these indicators may change with the progression of the disease. In addition, several studies demonstrated that decreased hemoglobin levels in COVID-19 patients were associated with the severity of the disease. Moreover, thrombocytopenia, which is reported in 5%-40% of patients, is known to be associated with poor prognosis of the disease. COVID-19 can present with various hematologic manifestations. In this regard, accurate evaluation of laboratory indicators at the beginning and during COVID-19 can help physicians to adjust appropriate treatment and provide special and prompt care for those in need.     

Sysmex XE-2100全自动血细胞分析仪嗜酸性粒细胞绝对值计数的评价

目的了解SysmexXE-2100全自动血细胞分析仪嗜酸性粒细胞绝对值计数的准确性。方法分别用仪器法和目测法计数60份抗凝静脉血的嗜酸性粒细胞数,再将两者的结果进行比较;并对5份嗜酸性粒细胞数值不同的抗凝静脉血分别用仪器法和目测法计数,每份标本重复计数10次,然后计算出CV值进行比较。结果60份抗凝静脉血仪器法和目测法计数结果之间无显著性差异,P>0.05;相关系数(r)为0.9996,P<0.01。仪器法和目测法对5份嗜酸性粒细胞数值不同的标本重复计数的平均CV值分别是1.98%和6.63%,显示仪器法的精密度明显高于目测法。结论用SysmexSE-2100全自动血细胞分析仪计数嗜酸性粒细胞绝对值(0～9.02×109/L)是一种快速和较准确的方法,可满足临床诊断、治疗和疗效观察的需要。     

History of Pediatric Oncology

Pediatric oncology emerged as a subspecialty in the United States of America following the observations in 1948 of Farber and his associates of the benefits of chemotherapy for acute leukemia. The establishment of national cooperative chemotherapy groups furthered its development. More recently, the subspecialty has been recognized by the American Board of Pediatrics. Even more recently, training programs for the subspecialty have been given accreditation. Parallel to development of the specialty in the United States has been a similar evolution of pediatric oncology in Europe.     

Evaluation of the ABX Cobas Vega automated hematology analyzer and comparison with the Coulter STKS

An evaluation of the new automated hematology analyzer was performed in comparison with the Coulter STKS on 1,694 blood samples coming from the different departments of Nice University Hospital. The Cobas Vega showed very satisfactory results in terms of repeatability, reproducibility and linearity. Correlation with the STKS was excellent with the exception of the following parameters: red blood cell distribution index and the absolute values for eosinophils and basophils. Two qualities were particularly appreciable: absence of leukocyte carryover, and stability of the complete blood count and leukocyte differential count over a long period. Analysis of qualitative flags showed that the overall blood smear review rate was 47% for the Cobas Vega, not forgetting that optical microscopy detects 37% of all abnormalities. The STKS’s review rate was 49.5%. Flags commonly concerned the granulocytic lineage, 61% for the STKS and 48% for the Vega, with a false positive rate of 43.4% for the STKS compared with 22% for the Vega. The opposite phenomenon was observed with the flag for atypical lymphocytes which represented 11% of flags for the STKS and 25.6% for the Vega, with a false positive rate of 25.5% for the STKS and 34% for the Cobas Vega. This may be explained by the fact that lymphocyte abnormalities sometimes generated “granulocytic” flags on the STKS. Studies of the false negative rate carried out using light microscopy on 505 blood samples without flags on either system, detected the presence of a slight myelemia, and a few hyperbasophilic lymphocytes or plasmocytes in 18.6% of all cases. Finally, the Cobas Vega’s practicality was greatly appreciated and there was no trouble with breakdowns throughout the whole period of its use.     

血球计数仪小孔堵塞的类型

本文把血球计数仪小孔堵塞的各种情况加以分类，并从成因，故障现象，以及排除方法等方面分别加以讨论。以帮助维修操作人员更有效的排除故障，更好地使用仪器。     

Successful kidney transplantation in a patient with pre-existing chronic myeloid leukemia treated with imatinib

Active malignancy is an absolute contraindication to kidney transplantation. As for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a Philadelphia chromosome-positive myeloproliferative neoplasm, the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has transformed CML from a lethal into a manageable chronic disease with a close-to-normal life expectancy. To date it is unknown whether kidney transplantation can be safely performed in patients with pre-existing CML. We describe the clinical course of a 57-year-old male patient with chronic kidney disease caused by reflux nephropathy. This patient had undergone first kidney transplantation 20 years earlier and had again been on chronic hemodialysis for 6 years when CML was diagnosed. First-line therapy with 400 mg imatinib daily was well tolerated and induced an optimal cytogenetic and molecular response 3 months after initiation. One and a half years after CML diagnosis, a second kidney transplantation from a deceased donor was performed. Immunosuppression included basiliximab, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids. Currently, 2 years posttransplant, renal allograft function is stable (serum creatinine 1.09 mg/dL, estimated glomerular filtration rate 75 mL/min per 1.73 m²), and CML remains in deep molecular remission with imatinib. Imatinib-treated CML in deep molecular remission could be regarded as inactive malignancy and may therefore not be viewed as an absolute contraindication to kidney transplantation.     

A world-wide survey on kidney transplantation practices in breast cancer survivors: The need for new management guidelines

Kidney transplantation reduces mortality in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Decisions about performing kidney transplantation in the setting of a prior cancer are challenging, as cancer recurrence in the setting of immunosuppression can result in poor outcomes. For cancer of the breast, rapid advances in molecular characterization have allowed improved prognostication, which is not reflected in current guidelines. We developed a 19-question survey to determine transplant surgeons’ knowledge, practice, and attitudes regarding guidelines for kidney transplantation in women with breast cancer. Of the 129 respondents from 32 states and 14 countries, 74.8% felt that current guidelines are inadequate. Surgeons outside the United States (US) were more likely to consider transplantation in a breast cancer patient without a waiting period (p = .017). Within the US, 29.2% of surgeons in the Western region would consider transplantation without a waiting period, versus 3.6% of surgeons in the East (p = .004). Encouragingly, 90.4% of providers surveyed would consider eliminating wait-times for women with a low risk of cancer recurrence based on the accurate prediction of molecular assays. These findings support the need for new guidelines incorporating individualized recurrence risk to improve care of ESRD patients with breast cancer.     

Association of antiviral prophylaxis and rituximab use with posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs): A nationwide cohort study

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a serious complication of solid organ transplantation (SOT). Most PTLD cases are associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection. The role of antiviral prophylaxis or rituximab therapy for prevention of PTLD in SOT recipients is controversial. In a nationwide cohort, we assessed the incidence, presentation, and outcome of histologically proven PTLD. We included 4765 patients with a follow-up duration of 23 807 person-years (py). Fifty-seven PTLD cases were identified; 39 (68%) were EBV positive (EBV+ PTLD). Incidence rates for EBV+ PTLD at 1, 2, and 3 years posttransplant were 3.51, 2.24, and 1.75/1000 py and 0.44, 0.25, and 0.29/1000 py for EBV− PTLD. We did not find an effect of antiviral prophylaxis on early and late EBV+ PTLD occurrence (early EBV+ PTLD: SHR 0.535 [95% CI 0.199–1.436], p = .264; late EBV+ PTLD: SHR 2.213, [95% CI 0.751–6.521], p = .150). However, none of the patients (0/191) who received a rituximab-containing induction treatment experienced PTLD, but 57 of 4574 patients without rituximab induction developed PTLD. In an adjusted restricted mean survival time model, PTLD-free survival was significantly longer (0.104 years [95% CI 0.077–0.131]) in patients receiving rituximab as induction treatment. This study provides novel data on the association of rituximab induction and reduced risk for PTLD.     

Distinct immunopathological mechanisms of EBV-positive and EBV-negative posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders

EBV-positive and EBV-negative posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) arise in different immunovirological contexts and might have distinct pathophysiologies. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a multicentric prospective study with 56 EBV-positive and 39 EBV-negative PTLD patients of the K-VIROGREF cohort, recruited at PTLD diagnosis and before treatment (2013–2019), and compared them to PTLD-free Transplant Controls (TC, n = 21). We measured absolute lymphocyte counts (n = 108), analyzed NK- and T cell phenotypes (n = 49 and 94), and performed EBV-specific functional assays (n = 16 and 42) by multiparameter flow cytometry and ELISpot-IFNγ assays (n = 50). EBV-negative PTLD patients, NK cells overexpressed Tim-3; the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) was poorer in patients with a CD4 lymphopenia (CD4⁺<300 cells/mm³, p <  .001). EBV-positive PTLD patients presented a profound NK-cell lymphopenia (median = 60 cells/mm³) and a high proportion of NK cells expressing PD-1 (vs. TC, p = .029) and apoptosis markers (vs. TC, p < .001). EBV-specific T cells of EBV-positive PTLD patients circulated in low proportions, showed immune exhaustion (p = .013 vs. TC) and poorly recognized the N-terminal portion of EBNA-3A viral protein. Altogether, this broad comparison of EBV-positive and EBV-negative PTLDs highlight distinct patterns of immunopathological mechanisms between these two diseases and provide new clues for immunotherapeutic strategies and PTLD prognosis.