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A summary of the article "Perceived facilitators and inhibitors for the use of personal digitalassistants by nurses: a systematic review," by C. Moloney and L. Becarria is presented.

The article discusses steroid avoidance or withdrawal for individuals who underwent kidney transplantation surgery. A review question is presented which asks a question related to the best evidence available regarding the safety and efficacy of steroid withdrawal or avoidance in kidney transplant recipients, in both adults and children. Topics include an overview of the relevance for steroid removal, or withdrawal, in the clinical practice where clinicians use steroid-sparing strategies to reduce steroid dosages, such as corticosteroids, safety and efficacy issues of steroid withdrawal or avoidance, and statistics from 29 randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) investigating steroid withdrawal or avoidance.

The number of hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HCTs) is increasing annually worldwide, and the Asia-Pacific (AP) region is no exception. We report on the absolute number of HCTs in 2018 and 2019 and the trends in graft selection and disease indication in the past few decades. In 2018, 24,292 HCTs were performed in the AP region, of which 8,754 (36.0%) were autologous and 15,538 (64.0%) were allogeneic. Among the allogeneic HCTs, 10,552 (67.9%) of the recipients were related to their donors, whereas 4,986 (32.1%) were unrelated. In 2019, 27,583 HCTs were reported, of which 17,613 (63.9%) were allogeneic and 9,970 (36.1%) were autologous. Although, in 2010, there was a nearly equal number of related and unrelated HCTs, the difference has shown an annual increase, with more than double (2.05) the number of related than unrelated HCTs in 2019. Recent trends in the AP region show that peripheral blood has overwhelmingly surpassed the bone marrow as a graft source for both related and unrelated HCTs, with the haploidentical donor type being preferred; however, their trends in each country/region were quite different among countries/regions. In 2019, the main conditions requiring HCT were acute myelogenous leukemia (n=6,629 [24.0%]), plasma cell disorders (PCD) (n=4,935 [17.9%]), malignant lymphoma (ML) (n=4,106 [14.9%]), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (AML) (n=3,777 [13.7%]), myelodysplastic syndrome or myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm (n=1,913 [6.9%]), severe aplastic anemia (n=1,671 [6.1%]), and hemoglobinopathy (n=910 [3.3%]). PCD and ML were the main indications for autologous HCT, and the number of PCD cases has grown more prominent than the corresponding of ML. The increased number of allogeneic transplants for hemoglobinopathy remains prominent, as well as that of AML and acute lymphocytic leukemia for the past 5 years. There was a significant regional variation in the number of facilities performing HCTs, ranging from one in Mongolia and Nepal to 313 in Japan, and differing regional densities varying from 0.1 in Indonesia and Pakistan to 24.7 in Japan. The total transplant density per 10 million population in each country/region also differed (0.2 in Indonesia and 627 in New Zealand). This annual Activity Survey aims to help all participating countries/regions understand the changes in HCT, serve as an asset in promoting HCT activities in the AP region, and be used as a reference for comparison with other registries from Europe and the United States., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available on the website. MI, AS, MB, AAH, and SO are editors of Blood Cell Therapy. They were not involved in the editorial evaluation and the decision to accept this article for publication., (Copyright Ⓒ2023 Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT).)

The Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT) has been conducting annual surveys on the activity of hematopoietic stem cell transplants since 2007. The APBMT Data Center collected the following data in 2017. A total of 21,504 transplants were registered from 733 transplant centers of 20 countries/regions in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region. Five countries/regions comprised 89.4% of all transplants - China (6,979), Japan (5,794), South Korea (2,626), India (2,034), and Australia (1,789). The number of centers in these five countries/regions also comprised 88.9% of all centers: Japan (373), China (123), India (66), Australia (45), and South Korea (44). The overall ratio between autologous and allogeneic transplants was 37.0% and 63.0%, respectively, but the ratios varied significantly among countries/regions. Autologous transplants have surpassed allogeneic transplants in Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, and Iran. In contrast, the proportion of allogeneic transplants comprised over 70% of all transplants in Pakistan, China, and Hong Kong. These ratios were compared by the Data Center among countries/regions that performed more than 50 transplants. The proportion of related and unrelated transplants also differed among countries/regions. The number of unrelated transplants was more than related ones in Japan (2,551 vs. 1,202) and Australia (329 vs. 291), whereas more than 80% of all transplants were related transplants in Malaysia (90.9%), India (89.5%), Iran (87.2%), Vietnam (85.7%), China (80.9%), and Thailand (80.6%). All transplant activities were related transplants in Pakistan, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Nepal, and no allogeneic transplants were performed in Bangladesh and Mongolia. Regarding the indications for transplants, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was the most common disease for allogeneic transplant (4,759, 35.1% of allogeneic transplants), while plasma cell disorder (PCD) was the most common disease for autologous transplant (3,701, 27.3% of all autologous transplants). Furthermore, the number of transplants for hemoglobinopathy has steeply increased in this region compared with the rest of disease indications (677, 3.1% of all transplants). APBMT covers a broad area globally, including countries/regions with diverse disease distribution, development of HSCT programs, population, and economic power. Consistent and continuous activity surveys considering those elements in each country/region revealed the HSCT field's diverse characteristics and background factors in this region., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available on the website. MI, AS, and SO are members of the Editor of Blood Cell Therapy. They were not involved in the editorial evaluation or the decision to accept this article for publication., (Copyright Ⓒ2022 Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT).)

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was introduced in Myanmar in 2014 and was first performed in a patient with multiple myeloma at the North Okkalapa General and Teaching Hospital. From 2014 to 2016,transplantation activities were in the preliminary stage of establishing the infrastructure and gradually developing capacity-building. In 2016, the Yangon General Hospital also commenced autologous transplantation for myeloma. Five autologous transplants were performed in Myanmar during 2016 in patients with myeloma, using high-dose melphalan and non-cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cell rescue. Despite the lack of a National Registry system, all cases were reported in the activity survey due to their small number. The National Marrow Donor Program has not been implemented in Myanmar yet. The major limitation in promoting HSCT in Myanmar is the unavailability of health insurance coverage for blood and marrow transplantation (BMT). The patients who received transplantation were partly supported by the government and partly by their families through out-of-pocket expenses. However, despite limited resources, there has been substantial progress in the human resource development for BMT in Myanmar. Under the leadership of The Asia Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT), several transplant centers in the Asia-Pacific region have been supporting Myanmar to establish transplantation activities and capacity-building for promoting HSCT in patients from Myanmar., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available here., (Copyright Ⓒ2019 Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group (APBMT).)

Background: Various techniques for managing faecal evacuation have been proposed; however, colostomy irrigation is favoured as it leads to better patient outcomes. Alternative fluid regimens for colostomy irrigation have been suggested to achieve effective evacuation., Aim: The objective of this review was to summarise the best available evidence on the most effective fluid regimen for colostomy irrigation., Search Strategy: Trials were identified by electronic searches of CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, Current Contents, the Cochrane Library and EMBASE. Unpublished articles and references lists from included studies were also searched., Selection Criteria: Randomised controlled trials and before-and-after studies investigating any fluid regimen for colostomy irrigation were eligible for inclusion. Outcomes measured included fluid inflow time, total wash-out time, haemodynamic changes during irrigation, cramps, leakage episodes, quality of life and level of satisfaction., Data Collection and Analysis: Trial selection, quality appraisal and data extraction were carried out independently by two reviewers. Differences in opinion were resolved by discussion., Main Results: The systematic literature search strategy identified two cross-over trials that compared water with another fluid regimen. Owing to the differences in irrigating solutions used, the results were not pooled for analysis. Both the polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution and glyceryl trinitrate performed significantly better than water., Conclusion: There is some evidence to support the effectiveness of fluid regimens other than water, such as polyethylene glycol electrolyte and glyceryl trinitrate, for colostomy irrigation. Further well-designed clinical trials are required to establish solid evidence on the effectiveness of other irrigating solutions that might enhance colonic irrigation.