FW: October 2011--RBC storage duration: Is older riskier

 

 

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having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser October 2011 digital edition October 20, 2011 In this issue In IHC, best to aim for 'middle' Sanger sequencing here for the long haul Dropping downtime for immediate FNA evaluations From the President's Desk: A warm and welcoming team Biovigilance network advancing slowly— but it's progress Product guide: Blood bank information systems Tracking troponin TAT, completeness of cancer reports Shorts on Standards Antibiotic program supersizes impact of molecular testing From basics to big picture: chemistry analyzers for low-volume labs People Product guide: Chemistry analyzers (for low-volume laboratories) CAP '11: For years of service, 24 win awards Clinical Pathology Abstracts Anatomic Pathology Abstracts Q & A Newsbytes Marketplace Put it on the Board Classified Advertising New product guides online Compare and contrast lab instruments and software feature by feature using the online, interactive version of CAP TODAY's renowned product guides. Chemistry analyzers for low-volume laboratories Blood bank information systems Laboratory automation systems and workcells In vitro blood gas analyzers Automated molecular platforms Chemistry analyzers for mid- and high-volume laboratories Positive patient identification products Automated immunoassay analyzers Coagulation analyzers—point of care, self-monitoring Billing/accounts receivable systems Laboratory-provider links software Bedside glucose testing systems Middleware systems Anatomic pathology computer systems Coagulation analyzers Hematology analyzers Laboratory information systems NOT A SUBSCRIBER? Access our online form to request your complimentary CAP TODAY magazine subscription. Stay informed on emerging issues through feature articles, concise news items, regular columns, and scientific abstracts. Subscribe or renew now. More information For more information about our digital edition, please contact us. Unsubscribe To be removed from this advance notification list, e-mail us. RBC storage duration: Is older riskier? Anne Paxton From across a hospital room, the average person should have no problem determining the blood type of a unit of red blood cells, as it's likely to be displayed prominently in large block letters. But another piece of information is in much smaller print: the unit's expiration date. Backtrack 42 days from that, and in most cases you'll arrive at the date when the blood was drawn from a donor, hence how long it has been on the shelf. That bit of small print is garnering a lot of attention these days. The question is, if the expiration date hasn't been reached, does it matter how old the unit is? It may—or it may not. Dr. Philip Spinella (left), shown here with Dr. Allan Doctor, says a survey found 66 percent of blood bank directors at children's hospitals are concerned about giving old blood, but 60 percent also say there's too little evidence to change practice. Several studies are underway. It's been three years since a study conducted at the Cleveland Clinic was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, then splashed across the mainstream press, startling many people with the finding that cardiac surgery patients who get fresher blood seemed to have better outcomes. The study put the phenomenon of a potentially harmful red blood cell "storage lesion" squarely on the map, igniting public worries that older blood was not as good. But as critics of the Cleveland Clinic study weighed in, charging that it was flawed research, a string of questions has been left unanswered. Should clinicians and patients be concerned about how long a unit of red cells has been stored? Should the FDA-imposed storage limit of 42 days be shortened? Should certain categories of patients routinely receive fresher red cells? Or could commercial red cell treatments or storage techniques limit the storage lesion's potentially negative effects? [more] The CAP member mailing list is closed and confidential. Its purpose is to distribute important news and information to CAP members. To be removed from this list, e-mail us or call the Customer Contact Center at 800-323-4040, option 1. College of American Pathologists, 325 Waukegan Road, Northfield, Illinois 60093

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