Erythrocyte Fragment Count Predicts Hemolysis in Roller Pumps

Objective： Hemolysis in blood pumps has been measured by various in vitro test methods, in which normalized index of hemolysis （NIH） was established. As NIH is complicated and difficult to calculate, erythrocyte fragment count is proposed in the present study to predict hemolysis in roller pumps. Methods： Five paired in vitro tests were conducted using the POLYSTAN pediatric pump（group A） and COBE pump（ group B）. Ten whole blood samples （400 ml ） were circled in the roller pump for 16 h. Erythrocyte fragments count and plasma-free hemoglobin （FHb） were measured before pumping and every two hours through circulation after four-hour-pumping. The morphological changes of erythrocyte were observed by scanning electron microscope. Results： The two groups＇ EFC and FHb levels were increased linearly during a long duration of pumping and linear regression of erythrocyte fragments count and plasma-free hemoglobin were correlated. Conclusion： Erythrocyte fragments count could be used as an index in evaluating the in vitro hemolytic properties of blood pumps.

Phenotypic analysis of affected peripheral erythroid for CD59 in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether affected reticulocytes could be a reliable marker for the diagnosis of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), we analyzed CD59-antigen expression on the membranes of reticulocytes and erythrocytes. METHODS: We studied 10 PNH patients and 5 healthy volunteers by two-color flow cytometry with a membrane permeable fluorescent dye, thiazole orange (TO), and anti-CD59 monoclonal antibodies (MoAb). TO was introduced to gate reticulocytes and anti-CD59 MoAb were used to identify glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-deficient cells. RESULTS: Cells from healthy individuals were only CD59 positive. However, in all PNH patients, CD59-antigen expression could be divided into 3 types: type I cells (CD59 normally positive), type II cells (CD59 partly positive) and type III cells (CD59 negative). The majority of reticulocytes belonged to type III cells, GPI-deficient cells (61.0%). In addition, the percentage of affected reticulocytes was higher than that of erythrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Analyzing PNH reticulocytes was important, because most patients had elevated numbers of reticulocytes, which represent more closely the recent erythroid output of BM. However, circulating mature erythrocytes were subject to complement-mediated intravascular lysis. Therefore, the percentage of abnormal erythrocytes may not accurately reflect the proliferation rate of normal and abnormal erythroid progenitor cells. Thus, affected reticulocytes could be a more reliable indicator for the diagnosis of PNH than mature erythrocytes.

Effect of Point Sticking Therapy on Biochemical Markers and Rating of Perceived Exertion in Athletes with Exercise-induced Fatigue

Objective： To observe the effect of point sticking therapy on biochemical markers and Rating of Perceived Exertion （RPE） in athletes with exercise-induced fatigue. Methods： A total of 35 football players were randomly allocated into a blank group, a control group and an observation group. The athletes in the blank group received no treatment, those in the control group take Xi Yang Shen （Radix Panacis Quinquefolii） orally and those in the observation group were treated by point sticking therapy. The athletes＇ RPE, hemoglobin （Hb）, red blood cell count （RBC）, blood urea nitrogen （BUN） and blood glucose （BG） were recorded every day for analysis. Results： The RPE value in the blank group tends to increase, while that in the treatment and the blank groups tend to increase first but decrease afterwards, and the corresponding RPE value in the observation group was smaller than that in the control group. After treatment, athletes in the blank group showed a decrease in Hb, RBC and BG, but an increase in BUN in the blank group; while athletes in the observation and the control groups showed increases in Hb, RBC and BG, but a decrease in BUN. Conclusion： Point sticking can alleviate clinical symptoms induced by exercise-induced fatigue.