Mucormycosis And Hemophagocytosis Syndrome in A Patient Following Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a malignant disease that affects the bone marrow and may affect red blood cells, white blood cells(myeloblasts), and platelets. Some cases of disease may be asymptomatic and can be diagnosed from random blood tests. AML mostly affects cells that are not fully developed, causing these cells to fail to perform their normal functions. If this disease is left untreated, it gets worse quickly and can be fatal. Genetic factors may cause the development of AML, but the exact cause is not known. There are environmental factors in AML etıology (eg, chemicals, radiation, tobacco, chemotherapy), in some patients, AML may occur due to  clonal hematopoiesis manifest as a myelodysplastic syndrome, myeloproliferative neoplasms, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, aplastic anemia and more. Here we present a case report of 59 years old male patient presenting to the clinic with malaise and referred to haematology department due to pancytopenia. However, further investigations confirmed AML

Convalescent plasma therapy in patients with COVID-19

There are currently no licensed vaccines or therapeutics for COVID-19. Anti-SARS CoV-2 antibody-containing plasmas, obtained from the recovered individuals who had confirmed COVID-19, have been started to be collected using apheresis devices and stored in blood banks in some countries in order to administer to the patients with COVID-19 for reducing the need of intensive care and the mortality rates. Therefore, in this review, we aim to point out some important issues related to convalescent plasma (CP) and its use in COVID-19. CP may be an adjunctive treatment option to the anti-viral therapy. The protective effect of CP may continue for weeks and months. After the assessment of the donor, 200-600 mL plasma can be collected with apheresis devices. The donation interval may vary between countries. Even though limited published studies are not prospective or randomized, until the development of vaccines or therapeutics, CP seems to be a safe and probably effective treatment for critically ill patients with COVID-19. It could also be used for prophylactic purposes but the safety and effectiveness of this approach should be tested in randomized prospective clinical trials

Evaluation of Ferric and Ferrous Iron Therapies in Women with Iron Deficiency Anaemia

Introduction. Different ferric and ferrous iron preparations can be used as oral iron supplements. Our aim was to compare the effects of oral ferric and ferrous iron therapies in women with iron deficiency anaemia. Methods. The present study included 104 women diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia after evaluation. In the evaluations performed to detect the aetiology underlying the iron deficiency anaemia, it was found and treated. After the detection of the iron deficiency anaemia aetiology and treatment of the underlying aetiology, the ferric group consisted of 30 patients treated with oral ferric protein succinylate tablets (2 × 40 mg elemental iron/day), and the second group consisted of 34 patients treated with oral ferrous glycine sulphate tablets (2 × 40 mg elemental iron/day) for three months. In all patients, the following laboratory evaluations were performed before beginning treatment and after treatment. Results. The mean haemoglobin and haematocrit increases were 0.95 g/dL and 2.62% in the ferric group, while they were 2.25 g/dL and 5.91% in the ferrous group, respectively. A significant difference was found between the groups regarding the increase in haemoglobin and haematocrit values (P<0.05). Conclusion. Data are submitted on the good tolerability, higher efficacy, and lower cost of the ferrous preparation used in our study

The Experience of Ibrutinib in Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Single Center Experience

Introduction:Chronic graft-versus host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication that develops in 35-50% of patients in the late period after allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplantation. About half of the patients are resistant to corticosteroids, which is the first-line treatment of chronic GVHD, and therefore new treatment options that can be effective in chronic GVHD are needed. In the present study, we aimed to share our experience with the use of ibrutinib therapy in patients with steroid-resistant chronic GVHD who have previously received multiple lines of systemic therapy.Methods:The characteristics and clinical outcomes of steroid-resistant chronic patients with GVHD receiving ibrutinib were retrospectively reviewed.Results:A total of 10 steroid resi-stant chronic patients with GVHD who received ibrutinib was included. While 50% of the patients had more than one organ involvement, 50% had a single organ involvement. The most commonly affected organs were the skin and liver. The patients received a median of three lines of systemic therapy before ibrutinib. After a median of 210 days of ibrutinib usage, the complete response rate of patients was 40% and the partial response rate was 40%. Corticosteroids were completely discontinued in 30% of patients after ibrutinib were initiated. Before ibrutinib, patients were given a median of 0.3 mg/kg methylprednisolone. The median methylprednisolone dose after ibrutinib was 0.03 mg/kg.Conclusion:Ibrutinib therapy causes a quite high overall response in steroid resistant chronic patients with GVHD and appears to be a good option in these patients

Pulmonary Embolism as the Initial Presentation of Testicular Carcinoma

Objective. The risk of pulmonary embolism is well recognized as showing an increase in oncological patients. We report a case presenting with pulmonary embolism initially, which was then diagnosed with testicular cancer. Clinical Presentation and Intervention. A 25-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department with a complaint of dyspnoea. Thoracic tomography, lung ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy, and an increased D-dimer level revealed pulmonary embolism. For the aetiology of pulmonary embolism, a left orchiectomy was performed and the patient was diagnosed with a germinal cell tumour of the testicle. Conclusion. In this paper, we present a patient for whom pulmonary embolism was the initial presentation, and a germinal cell tumour was diagnosed later during the search for the aetiology

Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome: A Case Report

Objective. The aim of this paper is to report the case of a patient diagnosed with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, as a result of bleeding diathesis. Clinical Presentation and Intervention. A 23-year-old male presented with recurrent epistaxis and, upon physical examination, was found to be remarkable for albinism and suborbital ecchymosis. The absence of dense bodies in the platelets was demonstrated using electron microscopy. This patient was (slowly) administered one unit of a platelet suspension, and his bleeding decreased considerably. Conclusion. This case shows that Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with bleeding diathesis, when the clinical presentation also includes oculocutaneous albinism and visual problems