In three cases of acute promyelocytic leukaemia remission was induced with cytosine arabinoside, daunarubicin and vincristine. The coagulopathy was controlled by EACA without resorting to the use of heparin. All three survived more than 85 weeks.

2 cases of acute leukaemia which developed in the course of pregnancy are reported. The first was a 34-year-old woman who presented with acute myeloblastic leukaemia late in the second trimester and received combination chemotherapy. A normal male infant was delivered. The second patient, aged 24 years, presented with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia early in the second trimester and was treated with the same regime. Pre-eclamptic toxaemia developed at 29 weeks gestation. Intra-uterine death was confirmed 1 week later.

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Summary In a prospective study, serum C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels were analysed before and after 18 transfusional episodes, using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Only patients with a stable CRP value for two consecutive days before transfusion were assessed. Although small rises in CRP concentrations occurred following 55.6% of transfusions, there was no statistically significant difference between pre‐ and post‐transfusion CRP values, and these increases also failed to reach clinical significance. An increase in CRP post‐transfusion of > 100mg/l occurred on only one occasion, and was more likely to be due to underlying infection.

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