The Landsteiner–Wiener (LW) antigen is a type of red blood cell antigen. Anti-LW appears in various situations, including alloantibodies, autoantibodies, and even transiently occurring antibodies. Anti-LW has similar characteristics to anti-D, so it can interfere with interpreting pre-transfusion tests and finding compatible blood. This paper introduces three cases in whom anti-LW was detected through antibody identification tests. All three cases were examined using the column agglutination technique with ID-DiaPanel (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) on a LISS/Coombs card, ID-DiaPanel p (Bio-Rad) on a NaCl/Enzyme card, and ID-DiaPanel (Bio-Rad) on a LISS/Coombs card using red blood cells treated with dithiothreitol. The auto-control test, direct antiglobulin test, and umbilical cord blood test were also performed. In all three cases, the reaction with D-positive panel cells was stronger than that with the D-negative panel cells, and two of them showed a pan-agglutinated reaction in ID-DiaPanel p (Bio-Rad) with NaCl/Enzyme card. They were reported as anti-LW, and as in these cases, anti-LW can occur under a range of conditions and interfere with proper transfusion. Therefore, it is important to identify anti-LW accurately, and if anti-LW is present, the transfusion of D-negative ABO matched blood should be recommended because of the low expression of the LW-antigen. On the other hand, D-positive blood is not a contraindication when an urgent transfusion is needed.

Background: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (e.g., pyridostigmine bromide) are used for neuromuscular blockade (NMB) reversal in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia (GA). Concurrent use of anticholinergic agents (e.g., glycopyrrolate) decreases cholinergic side effects but can impede bowel movements. Sugammadex has no cholinergic effects; its use modifies recovery of gastrointestinal (GI) motility following laparoscopic cholecystectomy compared to pyridostigmine/glycopyrrolate. This study evaluated the contribution of sugammadex to the recovery of GI motility compared with pyridostigmine and glycopyrrolate. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Patients were randomly allocated to the experimental group (sugammadex, Group S) or control group (pyridostigmine-glycopyrrolate, Group P). After anesthesia (propofol and rocuronium, and 2% sevoflurane), recovery was induced by injection of sugammadex or a pyridostigmine-glycopyrrolate mixture. As a primary outcome, patients recorded the time of their first passage of flatus (‘gas-out time’) and defecation. The secondary outcome was stool types. Results: One-hundred and two patients participated (Group S, 49; Group P, 53). Mean time from injection of NMB reversal agents to gas-out time was 15.03 (6.36–20.25) h in Group S and 20.85 (16.34–25.86) h in Group P (P = 0.001). Inter-group differences were significant. Time until the first defecation as well as types of stools was not significantly different. Conclusions Sugammadex after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under GA resulted in an earlier first postoperative passage of flatus compared with the use of a mixture of pyridostigmine and glycopyrrolate. These findings suggest that the use of sugammadex has positive effects on the recovery of GI motility.

Background: and Purpose: The Korean-Mini Mental State Examination, 2nd edition (K-MMSE~2) was recently released. This study aimed to determine whether the K-MMSE~2:Standard Version (K-MMSE~2:SV) had the same test characteristics as the K-MMSE. Methods: A total of 1,514 healthy community-based participants aged 19 to 90 years were administered the K-MMSE~2:SV Blue Form along with the language items from the K-MMSE.The item and test characteristics and test information for the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE were compared using Item Response Theory analysis. Results: Item discriminations for the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE were above the moderate range for all items except Recall. Most of the items on the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE had item category difficulty in the very easy or easy range. The test information curve (TIC) showed that the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE provide almost the same amount of information (27.86 vs. 28.44), with both tests providing the most information at an ability level of −1.57.The generalizability (G) coefficient for the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE was 0.99. Conclusions These results indicate that the K-MMSE~2:SV and K-MMSE are equally optimal tests for screening for mild cognitive impairment and early dementia. Given that the amount of test information provided by the two tests was almost identical, the shapes of the TICs were very similar, and the G coefficient was close to 1, we can conclude that the K-MMSE and K-MMSE~2:SV are equivalent tests.

We report a case that revealed the characteristics of acute myeloblastic leukemia with maturation (AML-M2) on the morphology of the bone marrow biopsy and 45,X,-Y in conventional cytogenetic study, but was confirmed to have a typical AML1/ETO translocation by molecular studies using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Insertion of ETO gene on chromosome 8 into chromosome 21 in this patient resulted in the development of the chimeric gene, AML1/ETO, on the long arm of chromosome 21. Our final report on the patient's karyotype: 45,X,-Y.ish ins(21;8)(q22;q22q22)(AML1 +,ETO +;ETO +,AML1-). In case typical morphologic features compatible with recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities are shown, molecular studies in addition to conventional cytogenetic study might be required to confirm the diagnosis.
Arm ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8 ; Cytogenetics ; Diagnosis ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Karyotype ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Masks* ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

BACKGROUND: In acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the importance of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) is not established. METHODS: NOR silver staining was carried out in 74 ALL patients. We analyzed the AgNOR parameters ; counting parameters including number of AgNOR per cell, percentage of cells with one cluster, and area parameters including mean AgNOR area, total AgNOR area, and its percentage of nuclear area by morphometry. Cyclin A index was evaluated by immunohistochemical stain. We compared the AgNOR parameters with cyclin A index and evaluated the differences of AgNOR parameters in accordance with FAB classification, immunophenotype, a new classification of ALL (ALL with maturation), and response to induction chemotherapy. RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between cyclin A index and AgNOR area parameters and a significant negative correlation was found between mean AgNOR area and number of AgNOR per cell (r=-0.433, P=0.000). AgNOR area parameters revealed the highest value in L3. The number of AgNOR per cell in T cell ALL was higher than non-T cell ALL (P=0.011), and the percentage of cells with one cluster was lower (P=0.002). The number of AgNOR per cell in ALLm was lower (P=0.004) and the percentage of cells with one cluster was higher than in typical ALL (P=0.002). In cases achieved complete remission (CR) after induction chemotherapy, the number of AgNOR per cell was higher (P=0.005) and the percentage of cells with one cluster was much lower than in cases failed to achieve CR (P=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that the AgNOR area parameters are helpful to predict the proliferating activity of leukemic blasts in ALL. It is suggested that the number of AgNOR per cell and the percentage of cells with one cluster provide a valuable information to estimate the response to chemotherapy in ALL.
Classification ; Cyclin A ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Nucleolus Organizer Region* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Silver Staining

BACKGROUND: Microscopic examination of the bone marrow (BM) smear has been a major method for the diagnostic and post-therapeutic evaluation of hematologic disease but is laborious and imprecise due to small number of cells counted. Recently, automated reticulocyte counting is available by the automated hematology analyzer. We analyzed the bone marrow aspirates using Coulter GEN S (GEN S) automated hematology analyzer and compared the results with those by the microscopic examination. METHODS: Total nucleated cells (TNC), leukocyte subpopulations, red cell count, hemoglobin and reticulocyte indices of the peripheral blood (PB) and the BM aspirates, were measured by GEN S in 392 samples including 142 normal control samples. Differential counts by microscopic examination of Wright stained BM films were used as a reference. RESULTS: TNC of the BM obtained by automated hematology analyzer correlated with the BM cel-lularity estimated by microscopic examination (r=0.587, P=0.000). The differential counts of neutrophils and monocytes correlated between these two methods (r=0.582, P=0.000, r=0.309, P=0.000). In acute leukemia, TNC of the PB and the BM, and the BM lymphocyte fraction were increased and the BM neutrophil fraction was decreased. In chronic myelogenous leukemia, TNC of the PB and the BM were high but distribution of leukocyte subpopulations was normal. In normal control group, the number of erythroid precusors correlated with the percentages of reticulocyte in the PB (r=0.425, P=0.000), and in patients with increased erythropoiesis, it showed strong correlation with immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) of the PB (r=0.708, P=0.033). In aplastic anemia, IRF of the PB was reversely correlated to hemoglobin level, but in myelodysplastic syndrome, reticulocyte indices of the PB and the BM had no correlation with hemoglobin level. In patients with increased erythropoiesis, the percentages of reticulocyte in the PB were increased and those of the BM were decreased in proportion to reduction of hemoglobin level in the PB. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the BM aspirates using automated hematology analyzer will be useful in screening of pathological hematologic diseases and in estimating the bone marrow cellularity objectively before those by the microscopic examination. In anemia, this study could provide an additional information to evaluate the ineffective hematopoiesis using reticulocyte indices of the PB and the BM.
Anemia ; Anemia, Aplastic ; Bone Marrow* ; Cell Count ; Erythropoiesis ; Hematologic Diseases ; Hematology* ; Hematopoiesis* ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; Leukocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Mass Screening ; Monocytes ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Neutrophils ; Reticulocyte Count ; Reticulocytes

BACKGROUND: The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is presently the only laboratory test for screening a population for colorectal cancer. However, the effectiveness of FOBT to reduce the mortality from colorectal cancer is still controversial. The cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) is highly expresssed in gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium. Therefore, fecal CK-19 excretion could be increased in gastrointestinal diseases. METHODS: We estimated fecal CK-19 using cytokeratin-19 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) on 53 stool samples from patients with various GI diseases and 100 stool samples from control patients. We conducted a study of rapid fecal CK-19 test using gold immunochromatography developed by DiNonA Research Institute (Seoul, Korea) and the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) on 115 stool samples from patients with various GI diseases and 181 stool samples from control patients. RESULTS: The cutoff value of fecal CK-19 was 408.7 pg/80mg. The sensitivity of the rapid fecal CK-19 kit was 10,000 epithelial cells /ml. The positive rate of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 4.4% in the controls, 83.9% in the thrombotic microangiopathy patients after BMT and it was higher than the positive rate of FOBT (58.1%, P=0.0264). In the overall GI diseases including GI cancers, the sensitivity of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 56.5%, and that of FOBT was 21.7%. The specificity of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 95.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid fecal CK-19 test in conjunction with the FOBT could be a valuable screening method for GI diseases especially for GI inflammation.
Academies and Institutes ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelium ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Humans ; Immunochromatography ; Inflammation ; Keratin-19 ; Mass Screening ; Occult Blood ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies

BACKGROUND: The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is presently the only laboratory test for screening a population for colorectal cancer. However, the effectiveness of FOBT to reduce the mortality from colorectal cancer is still controversial. The cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) is highly expresssed in gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium. Therefore, fecal CK-19 excretion could be increased in gastrointestinal diseases. METHODS: We estimated fecal CK-19 using cytokeratin-19 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) on 53 stool samples from patients with various GI diseases and 100 stool samples from control patients. We conducted a study of rapid fecal CK-19 test using gold immunochromatography developed by DiNonA Research Institute (Seoul, Korea) and the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) on 115 stool samples from patients with various GI diseases and 181 stool samples from control patients. RESULTS: The cutoff value of fecal CK-19 was 408.7 pg/80mg. The sensitivity of the rapid fecal CK-19 kit was 10,000 epithelial cells /ml. The positive rate of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 4.4% in the controls, 83.9% in the thrombotic microangiopathy patients after BMT and it was higher than the positive rate of FOBT (58.1%, P=0.0264). In the overall GI diseases including GI cancers, the sensitivity of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 56.5%, and that of FOBT was 21.7%. The specificity of rapid fecal CK-19 test was 95.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The rapid fecal CK-19 test in conjunction with the FOBT could be a valuable screening method for GI diseases especially for GI inflammation.
Academies and Institutes ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelium ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Humans ; Immunochromatography ; Inflammation ; Keratin-19 ; Mass Screening ; Occult Blood ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies

BACKGROUND: Most laboratories in Korea have been used kinetic Jaffe method for creatinine measurement. However, kinetic Jaffe method is interfered by hyperbilirubinemia, which causes creatinine decrement. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of deproteinization by trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in eliminating negative interference of bilirubin for accurate creatinine measurement. METHODS: We evaluated the correction effect of serum creatinine levels by deproteinization using 0.55 mol/L TCA in 43 samples with various total bilirubin levels. For 26 samples of them we measured creatinine using the enzymatic method for evaluating accuracy of TCA correction. Creatinine was measured by using the Toshiba 200-FR automated analyzer and the HiSense CREA reagents. RESULTS: After TCA treatment, 22 to the total 43 samples with more than 10 mg/dL of total bilirubin, revealed statistically higher creatinine concentration (P=0.0002) and the difference of creatinine results is mean 0.53 mg/dL (0.15-1.92 mg/dL). Also, 19 of them (86.4%) revealed 20% or more difference of creatinine results before and after TCA treatment and the negative interference of bilirubin increased in proportion to the rise in total bilirubin concentration (r=0.870). There was no significant difference of creatinine results between kinetic Jaffe method with 0.55 mol/L TCA treatment and enzymatic method (P=0.216). CONCLUSIONS: TCA deproteinization is simple and very efficient method for estimating accurate creatinine level by using kinetic Jaffe method in a patient with hyperbilirubinemia.
Bilirubin ; Creatinine ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Korea ; Trichloroacetic Acid

BACKGROUND: Most laboratories in Korea have been used kinetic Jaffe method for creatinine measurement. However, kinetic Jaffe method is interfered by hyperbilirubinemia, which causes creatinine decrement. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of deproteinization by trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in eliminating negative interference of bilirubin for accurate creatinine measurement. METHODS: We evaluated the correction effect of serum creatinine levels by deproteinization using 0.55 mol/L TCA in 43 samples with various total bilirubin levels. For 26 samples of them we measured creatinine using the enzymatic method for evaluating accuracy of TCA correction. Creatinine was measured by using the Toshiba 200-FR automated analyzer and the HiSense CREA reagents. RESULTS: After TCA treatment, 22 to the total 43 samples with more than 10 mg/dL of total bilirubin, revealed statistically higher creatinine concentration (P=0.0002) and the difference of creatinine results is mean 0.53 mg/dL (0.15-1.92 mg/dL). Also, 19 of them (86.4%) revealed 20% or more difference of creatinine results before and after TCA treatment and the negative interference of bilirubin increased in proportion to the rise in total bilirubin concentration (r=0.870). There was no significant difference of creatinine results between kinetic Jaffe method with 0.55 mol/L TCA treatment and enzymatic method (P=0.216). CONCLUSIONS: TCA deproteinization is simple and very efficient method for estimating accurate creatinine level by using kinetic Jaffe method in a patient with hyperbilirubinemia.
Bilirubin ; Creatinine ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Korea ; Trichloroacetic Acid