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Acute thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life-threatening emergency and plasma exchange (PEX) is the initial treatment shown to reduce acute mortality.To compare current practice in the United Kingdom (UK) against the standards set out in the 2012 British Society of Haematology guideline, and to better understand the issues affecting prompt initiation of PEX.The trainee research network HaemSTAR conducted a retrospective nationwide review of adults presenting to UK hospitals with a first episode of acute TTP.Data on 148 patients treated at 80 UK hospitals between 2014 and 2019 demonstrated that 64.8% of patients received PEX within 24 h. Diagnostic uncertainty was the most commonly cited reason for delayed treatment. Conversely, a shorter time to PEX occurred in patients who had red cell fragments or severe thrombocytopenia identified on their first complete blood count. Availability of on-site PEX was associated with a greater proportion of patients receiving PEX within 8 h compared to patients transferred, but by 24 h there was no difference between the two groups and two-thirds of all patients had received their first PEX. The mortality rate for patients that received PEX was 9.2%, with 27.8% of deaths linked to delayed treatment initiation.This is the first multi-center evaluation of treatment delays in acute TTP and it will inform targeted pathways to improve prompt access to life-saving intervention.

Disease relapse is recognized as a risk in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) after treatment of the acute presenting episode. Identification of patients at risk of relapse and its patterns are yet to be clearly established. We reviewed patients with iTTP having had >3 years of follow-up over 10 years in the United Kingdom to identify patient characteristics for relapse, assess relapse rates and patterns, and response to anti-CD20 therapy in those with a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13) relapses (ADAMTS13 activity of 20%. Anti-CD20 therapy was demonstrated to be an effective long-term treatment regardless of relapse pattern and there was no loss of this treatment response after subsequent treatment episodes.

Vaccination strategies have been at the forefront of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. An association between vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and one of these vaccines, the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine, is now recognized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and location of thrombosis in each vascular system using CT, MRI, and US to identify additional sites of thrombus in a United Kingdom-wide sample of patients with confirmed VITT. Thirty-two radiology centers identified through the national collaborative Radiology Academic Network for Trainees were invited from the United Kingdom; seven of these contributed to this study. All patients with confirmed VITT ¬between February 3 and May 12, 2021, who met the inclusion criteria were included. The location and extent of thrombi were evaluated using CT, MRI, and US. A total of 40 patients (median age, 41 years [IQR, 32-52]; 22 [55%] men) with confirmed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia after administration of their first ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine were included. Thirty-two patients (80%) developed symptoms within the first 14 days, and eight (20%) developed symptoms within 14-28 days. Twenty-nine patients (72%) experienced neurologic symptoms and were confirmed to have cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, 12 (30%) had clinical deterioration and repeat imaging demonstrated extension of their primary thrombus, and eight (20%) died. Twenty-five of 30 patients (83%) who underwent additional imaging had occult thrombosis. In conclusion, patients with VITT are likely to have multiple sites of thrombosis, with the most frequent being cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in combination with pulmonary embolism and portomesenteric venous thrombosis. Whole-body imaging with contrast-enhanced CT can be used to identify occult thrombosis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the rapid development of a range of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) is a rare but life-threatening complication of primarily adenoviral-based vaccines associated with the presence of antibodies to a PF4/polyanion neoepitope and measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Presented are serial anti–PF4/polyanion antibody, platelet, and D-dimer measurements in a large cohort of patients and their relation to relapse. Overall, 51% of patients using the Stago assay had persistently positive anti–PF4/polyanion levels 100 days’ postdiagnosis, whereas 94% of patients monitored by using the Immucor assay remain positive. The median duration of positivity of the PF4 assay is 87 days, with 72% of patients remaining positive after a median follow-up of 105 days. The use of plasma exchange seemed to reduce anti–PF4/polyanion levels and increase platelet counts in the acute setting more rapidly than other therapies. The rate of relapse in this study was 12.6%, with all relapsed cases exhibiting persistently positive PF4 antibodies and falling platelet counts. Only one patient had extension of their thrombosis. Overall, despite the persistence of PF4 antibodies in 72% of patients, the rate of relapse was low and did not seem to result in recrudescence of the aggressive clinical picture seen at index presentation. Monitoring of these patients in the UK cohort is ongoing and will aid in definition of the natural history of this novel condition.

Human factors and a systems approach can offer unique insight into the redesign process of medical charts to enhance usability. This paper describes a mixed method approach utilising numerous HF tools and theories to support the redesign process for an inpatient anticoagulant medication chart. The system factors and error-producing conditions associated with the use of this chart were identified through a qualitative analysis, using the SEIPS 2.0 model, of 65 reported incidents associated with the use of this chart. To better understand the role of this document at a task level, the task ‘first time prescription of anticoagulant medication’ was analysed in more detail using Hierarchical Task Analysis and the Systematic Human Error Reduction Approach. The incident report data was then also mapped onto the HTA and SHERPA of the task. Based on studies that applied heuristic analyses and a human factors perspective to chart design and evaluation, key design characteristics were compiled that were used to evaluate the chart. The results from these three different analyses were used to compile recommendations for the next design iteration of this chart.

The cornerstone of life-saving therapy in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) has been plasma exchange (PEX) combined with immunomodulatory strategies. Caplacizumab, a novel anti–von Willebrand factor nanobody trialed in 2 multicenter randomized controlled trials (RCTs) leading to European Union and US Food and Drug Administration approval, has been available in the United Kingdom (UK) through a patient access scheme. Data were collected retrospectively from 2018 to 2020 for 85 patients (4 children) receiving caplacizumab from 22 UK hospitals. Patient characteristics and outcomes in the real-world clinical setting were compared with caplacizumab trial end points and historical outcomes in the precaplacizumab era. Eighty-four of 85 patients received steroid and rituximab alongside PEX; 26% required intubation. Median time to platelet count normalization (3 days), duration of PEX (7 days), and hospital stay (12 days) were comparable with RCT data. Median duration of PEX and time from PEX initiation to platelet count normalization were favorable compared with historical outcomes (P < .05). Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) recurred in 5 of 85 patients; all had persistent ADAMTS13 activity < 5 IU/dL. Of 31 adverse events in 26 patients, 17 of 31 (55%) were bleeding episodes, and 5 of 31 (16%) were thrombotic events (2 unrelated to caplacizumab); mortality was 6% (5/85), with no deaths attributed to caplacizumab. In 4 of 5 deaths, caplacizumab was introduced >48 hours after PEX initiation (3-21 days). This real-world evidence represents the first and largest series of TTP patients, including pediatric patients, receiving caplacizumab outside of clinical trials. Representative of true clinical practice, the findings provide valuable information for clinicians treating TTP globally.