The revolution of internet and specifically mobile internet has occurred at a blinding pace over the last decade. With the advent of smart phones, the hand held device has become much more than a medium of voice calling. Healthcare has been catching up with the digital revolution in the form of Hospital Information System and Laboratory Information System. However, the advent of instant messaging services, which are abundantly used by the youth, can be used to improve communication and coordination among the various stake holders in the healthcare sector. We have tried to look at the impact of using the WhatsApp messenger service in the laboratory management system, by forming multiple groups of the various subsections of the laboratory. A total of 35 members used this service for a period of 3 months and their response was taken on a scale of 1 to 10. There was significant improvement in the communication in the form of sharing photographic evidence, information about accidents, critical alerts, duty rosters, academic activities and getting directives from seniors. There was also some increase in the load of adding information to the application and disturbance in the routine activities; but the benefits far outweighed the minor hassles. We thereby suggest and foresee another communication revolution which will change the way information is shared in a healthcare sector, with hospital specific dedicated apps.

These novel platelet parameters offer newer avenues in research and clinical use. Establishing biological reference interval for different platelet parameters would help determine true high and low values and help guide treatment decisions.

No abstract

Hospitals should validate their PTS before use and, by altering speed of sample transportation, hemolysis may be obliterated.

BackgroundABO-incompatible live donor liver transplant (ABOi-LDLT) is being widely done to bridge the gap of demand and supply of organs. Different desensitization regimes are being used to reduce titer of blood group antibodies for successful transplant and accommodation of graft. The authors used cascade plasmapheresis (CP) to bring down titer of naturally occurring blood group antibody to 16 or lower.Material and methodsFour recipients of ABOi-LDLT were of blood groups O, O, B, and B while donors were of blood groups B, A, AB, and AB, respectively. Desensitization protocol included immunosuppressive drugs and plasmapheresis. CP consisted of separating patient’s plasma as the first step and passing it through pore size based filter column as the second step. The first step was performed using disposable kit (PL1, Fresenius Kabi, Germany) with minor modification on apheresis equipment COM.TEC (Fresenius Kabi, Germany). Pore size based filter column used was 2A column (Evaflux, Kawasumi Laboratories, Japan). Blood group antibody titer (immunoglobulin G (IgG)) was done by column agglutination technology (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics).ResultsCases 1, 2, 3, and 4 with pre-CP titer of 1,024, 512, 32, and 64 required four, three, one, and one CP procedures, respectively. No signs of antibody-mediated rejection were exhibited on histopathological evaluation by any of the patients. Successful organ engraftment occurred as documented by post-operative liver function tests and liver biopsy.ConclusionCascade plasmapheresis offers a cost-effective and efficient way to decrease blood group antibody titer and helps in successful transplant.