Although, the number of treated eyes is small and the postoperative follow-up is short LASEK seems to be an effective and safe procedure for the treatment of myopia.
We report the case of a 29 year old male patient with a splenic hamartoma suffering from infections, anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Shortly after surgical removal of the tumour the blood cell count was within normal range. Hamartomas of the spleen are rare benign tumour-like lesions composed mainly of vascular elements. Most of them remain small in size and asymptomatic and are therefore incidental findings at laparotomy or autopsy. However, occasionally they present with symptoms, among which haematological disturbances appear in very few cases; only 16 cases of splenic hamartomas with haematological symptoms are described in the literature. The major symptoms were anaemia and/or thrombocytopenia as well as frequent infections. After removal of these lesions the symptoms disappeared.
Topical applied mitomycin C seems to be a promising therapy to prevent recurrent haze after a second PRK procedure. As mitomycin C can be associated with a variety of serious complications, it should only be used in patients with high risk of haze.
Currently, age- and sex-independent reference limits (RLs) are frequently used to interpret platelet counts in seniors. We aimed to define and validate reference intervals (RIs) for platelet counts within the framework of the prospective SENIORLAB study. Subjectively healthy Swiss individuals aged 60 years and older were prospectively included and followed for morbidity and mortality. Participants who had circumstances known to affect platelet counts were excluded. The obtained RIs were validated with indirect statistical methods. Frequencies of abnormal platelet counts in a population-based setting, including 41.5% of the entire age-specific population of the Principality of Liechtenstein, were compared by using age- and sex-independent RIs and the RLs obtained in the present study. For males (n = 542), 95% RIs for platelet counts were defined as follows: 150–300 × 109/L (60–69 years); 130–300 × 109/L (70–79 years); and 120–300 × 109/L (80 years and above). For females (n = 661), the consolidated age-independent 95% RI was 165–355 × 109/L. These RI values were validated by indirect RI determination of 51,687 (30,392 female/21,295 male) patients of the same age. Age- and sex-independent RIs exhibited imbalanced frequencies of abnormal platelet counts between the two sexes, which were corrected by introducing age- and sex-specific RLs. In conclusion, females have higher platelet counts than males. Whereas the upper RL for males remains constant, the lower RL decreases with age. We propose to abandon the practice of employing sex- and age-independent RL for platelet counts in the elderly.
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