Two hundred and eighty-four febrile episodes in immunocompromised patients were treated with ceftriaxone alone or in combination with amikacin. In the ceftriaxone-treated group, 60 out of 143 febrile episodes were microbiologically documented, while in the group receiving the combination therapy, there were 32 out of 140 (p = 0.0007). Gram-positive microorganisms were more common than gram-negative ones, accounting for 59 of the 101 isolated bacteria. The ceftriaxone regimen appeared to have a response rate comparable to the combination regimen (73.91 vs. 78.88%). Superinfections occurred under both regimens.

We compared the in vitro and in vivo function of fresh and stored platelet concentrates (PCs) collected by an automated continuous-flow blood cell separator (CS 3000 Fenwal) in a closed-system apheresis kit in order to evaluate the possibility of extending the storage time to seven days with the polyolefin container (PL-732). The initial 220 ml platelet volume (5.14 ± 1.23 x 1011) was divided into two parts. Half was transfused and the other half was stored for 7 days. All cultured units were negative for bacterial contamination. Mean counts for fresh and stored platelets were respectively 2.34 ± 0.59 and 2.17 ± 0.50 x 1011/100 ml of PCs (mean recovery 88.7 ± 11.9%). The pO2 levels were maintained during storage (179.9 ± 30.5 mmHg) but pCO2, pH, LDH, osmolality, glucose consumption, bicarbonates, ATP, and osmotic stress values changed significantly after 7 days storage. From a clinical point of view, in 14 patients receiving a total of 38 PC transfusions no statistically significant change in corrected post-transfusional levels was observed between fresh and stored PC. Biochemical and morphological data and clinical results suggest that PCs collected with CS-3000 blood cell separator in a closed system and stored for 7 days in polyolefin bags (PL-732) can be satisfactorily employed in clinical practice.

A total of 93 bone marrows (BM) from normal donors and patients were processed using the IBM-COBE 2991 blood cell washer to produce a concentrated buffy coat (BC) for either bone marrow transplantation (BMT) or cryopreservation for subsequent autologous BMT. The reduction in volume was 73.3 ± 8.5% and nucleated blood cells (NBC) recovery was 87.1 ± 9.1% of original marrow. Red blood cell (RBC) and platelet (PLT) contamination was reduced 64.5 ± 10.9% and 41.2 ± 24.1%, respectively. Clonogenic activity indicated that the NBC fraction was highly enriched in hematopoietic progenitor cells (> 100%) as assessed in vitro (CFU-GM). Results were not affected by diagnosis, initial marrow volume or cell count of the BM suspension. We conclude that this is a simple and reproducible method using blood bank, facilities and permits BC preparation from BM without significant loss of hematopoietic progenitor cells.