BackgroundStudies on health-related quality of life are based on the increasingly evident need for medical care not to be limited to preventing death, but to focus instead on the value of health. ObjectiveThis study aimed to measure the health-related quality of life in hemophilia, using the Hemophilia- Specific Quality of Life (Haem-A-QoL) questionnaire and describe the socioeconomic characteristics and health conditions of these patients. MethodsThe Brazilian version of the Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire was administered to hemophiliac adults, treated in an on-demand regime at the Juiz de Fora Regional Blood Center - HEMOMINAS Foundation. The patients were interviewed about demographic and socioeconomic data and their understanding of the questionnaire. Clinical data were collected from medical records. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set for p-values < 0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 15.0). ResultsThirty-nine patients were evaluated. The mean age was 36.8 years. 84.6% had hemophilia A; 20.5% of the patients had hemophilia classified as mild, 41% as moderate and 38.5% as severe. The records of 10.5% of the patients registered seropositivity for anti-HIV and 57.9% for anti-HCV. Target joints were detected in 69.2%. The mean total Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life score was 35.55. 'Sports and leisure'and 'Physical health'were the most impaired dimensions and the dimension 'Relationship and partners'was the least impaired. The Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life scores showed good discriminant validity for hemophilia severity (p-value = 0.001), HIV-infection (p-value = 0.02), HCV-infection (p-value = 0.01) and the presence of target joints (p-value < 0.001). ConclusionHealth-related quality of life in hemophilia, measured by the Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, was influenced by the presence of arthropathy and infectious diseases transmitted by blood products. Rehabilitation measures should be encouraged in order to improve the quality of life of these patients.

BackgroundAssociations between aplastic anemia and numerous drugs, pesticides and chemicals have been reported. However, at least 50% of the etiology of aplastic anemia remains unexplained.

Agranulocytosis seems to be very rare in Latin America. The lower than expected number of cases identified during the study period precluded estimation of the risk associated to individual drugs, with the exception of methimazol. However, this is the longest series of agranulocytosis cases ever gathered in Latin America, and information on drug exposures was collected prospectively. The conclusion is that drug-induced agranulocytosis does not seem to be a major public health problem in the study regions.

Summary Background One of the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is the risk of shortages in Blood Centres. Objectives To verify the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the blood donor's attendance and production of blood components in Fundação Hemominas, a Brazilian public institution was formed by several Blood Centres. Methods A cross‐sectional study was carried out from January to June 2020. Data collected were compared to a historical series from 2016 to 2019. Results The study showed a reduction in the attendance of blood donors, whole blood collections and blood component production from March 2020, when the first case of COVID‐19 was notified in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The results evidenced that Hemominas Blood Centres were affected in a very distinct way by the pandemic with a general mean reduction around 17% in attendance of blood donors and in production of blood components in the period of March to June. On the other hand, the return of blood donors rate increased. Conclusion The reduction in blood donation during the pandemic period was significant, despite the measures adopted. Still, the recruitment of return donors appears to be an important measure to be considered to decrease the pandemic's effect on blood stocks.

BackgroundHemophilia is a potentially disabling condition as hemophilic arthropathy develops early in life and is progressive, especially in patients treated in an on-demand regime. ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the structural joint status and the functional independence score of hemophiliac adults and correlate structural damage with the functional deficits found in these patients. MethodsHemophiliacs at the Juiz de Fora Regional Blood Center - HEMOMINAS Foundation, aged 18 years and over and treated in an on-demand regime, were clinically evaluated in respect to structural joint damage using the World Federation of Hemophilia Physical Examination Scale (WFH-PE) and functional deficits using the Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia (FISH). The Spearman rank test was used to evaluate the correlation between the two scores. ResultsThirty-nine patients were evaluated. The mean age was 36.8 years. Target joints were detected in 69.2% of patients studied. The mean Physical Examination Scale and Functional Independence Score were 16.87 and 25.64, respectively. Patients with mild hemophilia showed no significant joint involvement. Patients with severe or moderate hemophilia had similar results regarding structural damage (p-value < 0.001) and functional deficits (p-value = 0.001). There was statistical significance in the correlation between the two scores (r = -0.850; p-value = 0.01). ConclusionsThe World Federation of Hemophilia Physical Examination Scale and Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia may be useful to clinically assess structural joint damage and functional deficits in hemophiliacs as the tools are inexpensive and easy to administer and may be able to detect hemophilic arthropathy, which results from recurrent hemarthrosis and is common in the population studied.