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Aim: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a frequently discussed treatment modality in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. It requires an apheresis device and experienced personnel for the application. In this study, we aimed to reveal the characteristics and clinical outcomes of adult patients with COVID-19 who experienced TPE. Material and Methods: Adult patients who had undergone TPE in our apheresis unit were retrospectively analyzed and COVID-19-positive cases were included in the study. All the medical information about the cases was obtained from the electronic database and technical details of the procedures were gathered from apheresis unit records. Results: A total of 80 patients with a median age of 60 (19-85) years were included in the study. Severe pneumonia was present in 98.8% (n=79) of the cases. More than three-quarters of the patients had lymphopenia, critically elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer, and 41.0% (n=32) had high ferritin. The median length of stay in the intensive care unit was 26 (5-124) days. The mortality rate observed on the 14th and 28th days following the TPE procedure was 51.3% (n=41) and 75.0% (n=60), respectively. High ferritin level, multiple organ failure (MOF), and intubation were parameters found to be associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The mortality rate observed in patients with COVID-19 who underwent TPE in our study was similar to the cases in the literature without the procedure, while it has been shown that high ferritin levels, intubation, and the presence of MOF increase the risk of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a disease resulting from BCR-ABL gene fusion. It is possible to monitor treatment by molecular testing for BCR-ABL. The lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is a commonly used marker associated with prognosis in various neoplasms. This study was performed to evaluate the relevance of absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), absolute monocyte count (AMC), and LMR in predicting molecular response status in patients with chronic phase CML. Methods: Samples submitted to our hematology laboratory for BCR-ABL testing between April 2012 and October 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Concurrent hemogram testing together with the results of quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were noted. Data were grouped according to molecular response status and the ALC, AMC, and LMR were compared among patient groups. Results: A total of 224 samples from 95 patients were included in the study. Analysis revealed differences between groups when newly diagnosed patients were compared with patients undergoing treatment, regardless of response status. However, analyzing the groups according to molecular response status failed to reveal differences in ALC, AMC, or LMR. Conclusions: ALC, AMC, and LMR are not potential biomarkers for predicting molecular response status in patients with chronic phase CML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The profile of leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid provides important information for diagnosing various lung diseases. A differential cell count of BAL is conventionally performed by evaluating centrifuged samples under a light microscope and enumerating the stained cells. Another rarely used method to identify BAL leukocytes is flow cytometry (FCM). However, there are no guidelines for standardizing this method and related literature is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of FCM for identifying BAL leukocytes. Methods: The BAL samples accepted to the hematology laboratory between 2014 - 2018 were retrospectively evaluated via light microscopy (LM) by a hematologist; while flow cytometric analyses with a monoclonal antibody panel composed of CD45/CD14/CD16 were noted by another doctor. The percentages of macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils determined by both methods were recorded for analysis. Correlations between the results from LM and FCM were investigated. In addition, compatibility between LM and FCM for denoting pathological values for each cell type was checked. Results: Among 140 reviewed BAL samples, 76 were included for further analysis. Comparisons revealed strong correlations between FCM and LM for identifying macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils. In addition, regarding the normal cutoff values for each leukocyte type, FCM and LM were similar in the identification of pathological changes of all cell types except eosinophils. Conclusions: Flow cytometry was found to be feasible for use instead of LM and might become a more widely used technique to analyze BAL fluid in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bone marrow involvement (BMI) is a significant component of staging of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). Unilateral bone marrow biopsy (BMB) from dorsal iliac bone is the standard method to determine BMI. Positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) is recommended as a complimentary technique to determine BMI and to evaluate response to treatment. The aim of this study is to determine whether PET/CT can replace BMB to detect BMI in patients with HL. Methods: A total of 159 patients diagnosed as having HL were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred and four patients who met the criteria were included in the study. BMB and PET/CT were performed on all patients during initial staging. Results: Of the 104 patients, 44 (42.3%) and 17 (16.3%) had BMI in PET/CT and BMB respectively. All patients who had BMI in BMB also had involvement in PET/CT. BMB did not detect BMI in 27 patients who had BMI in PET/CT. All 27 patients had partial or complete remission on PET/CT performed at the end of treatment. This finding was regarded as a relative indicator for BMI. PET/CT had a sensitivity and negative predictive value of 100%, specificity of 68.9% and accuracy rate of 74% to determine BMI. Conclusion: We observed that PET/CT and BMB were compatible to determine BMI in patients diagnosed with HL. Unilateral BMB may result false negative especially in cases with focal involvement. Therefore, PET/CT should be considered as a complimentary technique to determine BMI. Staging should be reevaluated in patients who have BMI in PET/CT and a negative BMB treatment should be planned accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]