In adults with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), abnormal platelet counts were seen in several studies. However we retrospectively examined the clinical records of a larger number of adults with IDA to assess abnormal platelet counts. From November 2006 to April 2008, 615 consecutive adults (73 men and 542 women; age range, 16-88 years) with IDA were included in this study. The mean initial hemoglobin was 9.0 +/- 1.8 g/dL (range 2.7-12.8 g/dL), and the mean initial platelet count was 304 x 10(3)/microL +/- 92.3 (range, 105-700 x 10(3)/microL). The initial platelet counts were normal in 520 (84.6%) adults with IDA. Thrombocytosis (>400 x 10(3)/microL) and thrombocytopenia (<150 x 10(3)/microL) were detected in 82 (13.3%) and 13 (2.1%) adults with IDA, respectively. In conclusion, thrombocytosis was seen at lower rates in our study. Furthermore, this study shows that mild thrombocytopenia is not so rare in adults with IDA.

We aimed to investigate the incidence and density of Demodex folliculorum in adults with leukaemia or lymphoma. Fifty patients with haematological malignancy and 50 healthy controls were studied. Patients had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (12%), acute myelocytic leukaemia (32%), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (4%), chronic myelocytic leukaemia (10%), Hodgkin's lymphoma (4%) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (38%). Standardized skin surface biopsies were taken and > or = 5 living parasites/cm2 of skin was defined as an infestation. The difference in infestation rates between patients and controls was statistically significant. The highest incidences of D. folliculorum were found in patients with acute myelocytic leukaemia (10%), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (6%), acute lymphocytic leukaemia (4%), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (4%) and chronic myelocytic leukaemia (4%). Demodicidosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of facial eruptions in patients with haematological malignancies who are receiving chemotherapy, and a standardized skin surface biopsy should be performed.

Convalescent Plasma (CP) therapy is of interest as no vaccine or specific treatment is available for emerging viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causing Covid-19. It was aimed to report the results of our patients who underwent CP in the treatment of Covid-19. Methods: CP treatment was applied to 26 Covid-19 patients in intensive care unit who had quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction positive Sars-Cov-2 infection. Plasma was collected at least 14 days after complete recovery from patients who had mild or moderate infection with Sars-Cov-2 infection. The collected CP (200cc) were applied to severe Covid-19 patients. Laboratory values of patients just before CP and after 7 days were compared. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, CRP, ferritin, LDH, ALT, AST, sO 2 and total bilirubin values just before and after 1 week of CP. A statistically significant difference was found between age and lymphocyte values of living and dying patients. The patients who died were determined to have older age (74,6 vs 61,85, p = 0,018) and more severe lymphopenia (0,47 vs 1,18, p = 0,001). Conclusion: CP therapy has the potential to provide immediate and promising treatment options before specific vaccines and treatments are developed. In early stage Covid-19 patients who do not need mechanical ventilation, CP treatment may be a curative treatment option.

The usefulness of doxorubicin (DXR) is limited by its cardiotoxicity. In order to improve future DXR therapy by using a new antioxidant agent, an experimental study was designed. This study was undertaken to determine whether DXR-induced cardiotoxicity is prevented by erdosteine, a mucolytic agent showing antioxidant properties. Three groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats (60 days old) were used: one group was untreated as a control; the other groups were treated with DXR (single i.p. dosage of 20 mg kg(-1) body wt.) or DXR plus erdosteine (10 mg kg(-1) day(-1), orally), respectively. The DXR treatment without erdosteine increased antioxidant enzyme activities and also increased lipid peroxidation in myocardial tissue. The rats treated with DXR plus erdosteine produced a significant decrease in lipid peroxidation in comparison with control and DXR groups. Furthermore, erdosteine administration led to an increase in antioxidant enzyme activities in comparison with the control group. Erdosteine treatment also increased the activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in comparison with the DXR group. There was no significant difference in lipid peroxidation of myocardial tissue between control and DXR plus erdosteine-treated rats. It was concluded that erdosteine caused an increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, especially GSH-Px and CAT, protecting the heart tissue sufficiently from oxidative damage to membrane lipids and other cellular components induced by DXR.