Background Sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) is an infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue at the upper part of the natal cleft of the buttocks. Excision and healing by granulation “lay-open” method is still more preferable than other methods of midline closure or using flaps but the healing time is lengthy. The present study was performed to assess the healing promotion effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the pilonidal sinus wounds treated by the lay-open method. Methods One hundred patients suffering from PSD were randomly divided into two groups, they were treated by the lay-open method, at General surgery department, Kafr El-Sheik University hospital, Egypt, during the period from December 2018 to December 2019. Group (A) was adopted the regular dressing postoperatively, while group (B) was treated with PRP injection into the wound at 4 and 12 postoperative days. Results Accelerated rate of wound healing was detected in group (B) in day 10, with a significant difference detected in days 15, 20, 25 and 30 postoperative, with a mean time of complete healing 45 ± 2.6 days in group B, while it was 57 ± 2.4 days in group A with a p-value of 0.001 which indicates considerable effect in the treated group. Conclusions PRP injection is an effective new technique in accelerating the healing of pilonidal wound after surgery, with a significant decrease in post-operative pain, complications and an early return to work. Trial registration retrospectively registered. Trial registration number: 12/35/1016 issued on December 2018 from the Institution Review Board at Kafr El Sheikh University. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04430413

Iron defi ciency anemia (IDA) is one of the most prevalent micronutrient defi ciencies particularly in the developing countries. While there is evidence of an altered immune profi le in iron defi ciency, the exact immunoregulatory role of iron is not known. Knowledge particularly in children, who are vulnerable to iron defi ciency and infection, is lacking. We aimed to study the effects of IDA and its treatment with oral iron supplementation on cell-mediated immunity. The levels of T-lymphocytes, their CD4 + , CD8 + and CD1a + subsets, transferrin receptor (CD71) and serum ferritin were evaluated in 40 iron-defi cient and 40 healthy children. The impact of oral iron supplementation for three months on the same parameters was also noted in children with IDA. The level of mature T-lymphocytes (CD4 + and CD8 + ) was signifi cantly lower (P<0.001) while that of the immature T-cells (CD1a + ) was signifi cantly higher (p<0.001) in IDA children compared to the control. The mature T-cell count was signifi cantly improved after iron therapy. In spite of signifi cant reduction in the immature T-cells (CD1a+) level after iron supplementation, it was signifi cantly higher than the control. The present study demonstrated that T-lymphocytes maturation was defective in IDA and improved partially after 3 months of iron supplementation. Therefore, longer time of iron therapy may be required to induce complete maturation of T-lymphocytes.

'Positive Transferrin receptor -1 (CD71) expression in patients with ALL is adverse prognostic factor and should be taken in consideration in designing future therapeutic strategies based on patient- specific risk factors'.

Background: The expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G was studied in certain malignancies and its role in escaping from immunosurveillance in cancers was proposed since HLA-G is a non-conventional HLA class I molecule that protects the fetus from immunorecognition during pregnancy. Some particles involved in the regulation of an immune system might represent prognostic value for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). The identification of novel prognostic factors in B-CLL may help define patient subgroups that may benefit from early therapeutic intervention. Objective: To evaluate the prognostic significance of HLA-G expression in B-CLL patients and its relationship with other well-established prognostic markers. Methodology: Thirty B-CLL patients diagnosed by clinical, morphological and immunophenotyping criteria were studied for HLA-G expression by flow cytometry. The relationship between HLA-G expression and some known prognostic markers was evaluated. Results: HLA-G was expressed in 36.7% of CLL patients at diagnosis, with a mean expression level of 35.31 ± 12.35%. A significant association between HLA-G expression and common prognostic markers of progressive disease was detected. The group of patients with positive HLA-G expression showed significantly higher absolute lymphocyte counts and serum levels of LDH and β₂-microglobulin, lower platelet counts, positive CD38 expression and advanced stages of Binet clinical staging. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that HLA-G expression correlates with prognostic markers of a poor B-CLL outcome, mainly Binet clinical staging and CD38 expression by B-CLL cells, which indicates that this parameter may play a role as an important prognosticator of disease progression and consequently targeted therapy in B-CLL.

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