Thirty-nine patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were enrolled in a study to identify potential age-related changes in organ system function that may help explain the apparent association between age and poor outcome in these patients. Criteria for enrollment included an arterial PO2-to-inspired O2 concentration ratio less than or equal to 200 in a clinical setting consistent with ARDS. Patients were excluded if they were less than 18 yr old, had clinical manifestations of congestive heart failure, were seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus, or had stage II metastatic lung cancer. Patients were divided into two groups: those less than 60 yr old (mean 42 +/- 3 yr, n = 17) and those greater than or equal to 60 yr old (73 +/- 2 yr, n = 16). A group of six patients was analyzed as a separate subset based on a body temperature less than or equal to 97.5 degrees F at enrollment (hypothermic patients, 73 +/- 4 yr old). Sepsis was present in 67% of the nonhypothermic patients and in all the hypothermic patients. Mortality rates were 12% in the patients less than 60 yr and 69% in the nonhypothermic patients greater than or equal to 60 yr. All the hypothermic patients died. Sequential data obtained over 6 days were compared within and between groups. The following results were obtained. 1) The ratio of arterial PO2 to inspired O2 fraction was greater and the positive end-expiratory pressure used was significantly less in the patients greater than or equal to 60 yr old compared with the younger group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Background. The quality of platelet concentrates (PCs) is affected by preparation, storage, the type of container, and pathogen reduction technology (PRT). The Mirasol® Pathogen Reduction Technology (PRT) system (Terumo BCT Inc., Lakewood, USA), which uses riboflavin and ultraviolet (UV) light, has recently been proven effective against bacteria, viruses, parasites, and leukocytes.

Background: Assessment of the basic aspects of the activity of the Polish Regional Blood Transfusion Centers (hereinafter referred to as Centers) in 2018. Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of the 2018-data supplied by the Centers. Results: In 2018, blood and blood components were collected in 21 Centers and 132 local collection sites as well as during 13 189 mobile collections. The overall number of blood donors was estimated at 590 470; the majority were non-remunerated donors (589 897-including 37 824 responders to donation appeals), 73 remunerated donors and 500 autologous donors. Most frequent were whole blood collections (1 184 311), least frequent-granulocyte concentrate collections (116) and red blood cell (RBC) collection by apheresis (31 donations). Whole blood was collected mostly in local collection sites (44.85%), less frequently in Centers (28.47%) and at mobile collection sites (26.67%). Most frequently prepared blood components were RBC-1 161 600 units) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP-1 298 216 units; 20.93% dedicated for clinical use). Platelet concentrates (PCs) collected by apheresis amounted to 50 255 units and 83 598 were whole blood-derived. Additional processing methods such as leukocyte depletion and irradiation were more frequently applied to PCs (32.56% leukocyte depleted, 1.37% irradiated, 58.07% both leukocyte depleted and irradiated) than to RBCs (17.29% leukocyte depleted, 0.31% irradiated, 8.94% both leukocyte depleted and irradiated). Pathogen reduction technologies were applied to 11.74% of PCs and 10.23% units of FFP issued for transfusion. In 2018-for various reasons-14 067 units of whole blood, 30 521 units of RBC, 49 979 units of FFP, 1376 units of cryoprecipitate, 5186 units of pooled PCs and 1625 of apheresis PCs were wasted. Conclusions: The study data may contribute to evaluation of the tendencies observed in Centers and may serve practical-benchmarking which in turn may prove beneficial to the transfusion community as a whole.

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Background. Leukocytes in transfused blood components, particularly residual lymphocytes, have been shown to contribute to the occurrence of various adverse reactions. One of the most severe is transfusionassociated graft versus host disease (TA-GvHD) following transfusion of blood components contaminated with immunocompetent T lymphocytes. Irradiation is a routine method for protection against TA-GvHD. According to the literature, some pathogen reduction methods have also been proven effective for the inactivation of T lymphocytes, and so they may be considered as an alternative to irradiation.