Age of Red Cells for Transfusion and Outcomes in Patients with ARDS

Packed red blood cells (PRBCs), stored for prolonged intervals, might contribute to adverse clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. In this study, short-term outcome after transfusion of PRBCs of two storage duration periods was analyzed in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Patients who received transfusions of PRBCs were identified from a cohort of 1044 ARDS patients. Patients were grouped according to the mean storage age of all transfused units. Patients transfused with PRBCs of a mean storage age ≤ 28 days were compared to patients transfused with PRBCs of a mean storage age > 28 days. The primary endpoint was 28-day mortality. Secondary endpoints included failure-free days composites. Two hundred and eighty-three patients were eligible for analysis. Patients in the short-term storage group had similar baseline characteristics and received a similar amount of PRBC units compared with patients in the long-term storage group (five units (IQR, 3–10) vs. four units (2–8), p = 0.14). The mean storage age in the short-term storage group was 20 (±5.4) days compared with 32 (±3.1) days in the long-term storage group (mean difference 12 days (95%-CI, 11–13)). There was no difference in 28-day mortality between the short-term storage group compared with the long-term storage group (hazard ratio, 1.36 (95%-CI, 0.84–2.21), p = 0.21). While there were no differences in ventilator-free, sedation-free, and vasopressor-free days composites, patients in the long-term storage group compared with patients in the short-term storage group had a 75% lower chance for successful weaning from renal replacement therapy (RRT) within 28 days after ARDS onset (subdistribution hazard ratio, 0.24 (95%-CI, 0.1–0.55), p < 0.001). Further analysis indicated that even a single PRBC unit stored for more than 28 days decreased the chance for successful weaning from RRT. Prolonged storage of PRBCs was not associated with a higher mortality in adults with ARDS. However, transfusion of long-term stored PRBCs was associated with prolonged dependence of RRT in critically ill patients with an ARDS.

Impact of short-term storage of plasma samples on quantitation of ultra-low levels of interleukin-6

Objective To quantitate plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in healthy individuals and to clarify how these levels are affected by blood sample handling procedures during short-term storage. Methods Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-treated plasma samples were simultaneously collected from 14 healthy individuals and stored on ice prior to analysis of the IL-6 levels. White blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells, and platelets were counted immediately after blood collection. IL-6 levels were analyzed every 30 minutes using a commercial electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results Correlation coefficients between plasma IL-6 levels and WBC counts ranged between 0.605 and 0.554, higher than those for other cell types. The lowest IL-6 value in healthy individuals was estimated at 0.04 pg/mL and the mean values remained under 2 pg/mL over time. Conclusion Analysis of IL-6 levels in EDTA-treated plasma samples centrifuged within 1 hour and stored on ice can be performed within 90 minutes of short-term storage if the analytical method has a sensitivity in the range of 10 fg/mL.

Integrating Whole Blood Transcriptomic Collection Procedures Into the Current Anti-Doping Testing System, Including Long-Term Storage and Re-Testing of Anti-Doping Samples

Introduction: Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) administration studies involving transcriptomic approaches have demonstrated a gene expression signature that could aid blood doping detection. However, current anti-doping testing does not involve collecting whole blood into tubes with RNA preservative. This study investigated if whole blood in long-term storage and whole blood left over from standard hematological testing in short-term storage could be used for transcriptomic analysis despite lacking RNA preservation.Methods: Whole blood samples were collected from twelve and fourteen healthy nonathletic males, for long-term and short-term storage experiments. Long-term storage involved whole blood collected into Tempus™ tubes and K2EDTA tubes and subjected to long-term (i.e., ‒80°C) storage and RNA extracted. Short-term storage involved whole blood collected into K2EDTA tubes and stored at 4°C for 6‒48 h and then incubated at room temperature for 1 and 2 h prior to addition of RNA preservative. RNA quantity, purity, and integrity were analyzed in addition to RNA-Seq using the MGI DNBSEQ-G400 on RNA from both the short- and long-term storage studies. Genes presenting a fold change (FC) of &gt;1.1 or &lt; ‒1.1 with p ≤ 0.05 for each comparison were considered differentially expressed. Microarray analysis using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Human Transcriptome 2.0 Array was additionally conducted on RNA from the short-term study with a false discovery ratio (FDR) of ≤0.05 and an FC of &gt;1.1 or &lt; ‒1.1 applied to identify differentially expressed genes.Results: RNA quantity, purity, and integrity from whole blood subjected to short- and long-term storage were sufficient for gene expression analysis. Long-term storage: when comparing blood tubes with and without RNA preservation 4,058 transcripts (6% of coding and non-coding transcripts) were differentially expressed using microarray and 658 genes (3.4% of mapped genes) were differentially expressed using RNA-Seq. Short-term storage: mean RNA integrity and yield were not significantly different at any of the time points. RNA-Seq analysis revealed a very small number of differentially expressed genes (70 or 1.37% of mapped genes) when comparing samples stored between 6 and 48 h without RNA preservative. None of the genes previously identified in rHuEPO administration studies were differently expressed in either long- or short-term storage experiments.Conclusion: RNA quantity, purity, and integrity were not significantly compromised from short- or long-term storage in blood storage tubes lacking RNA stabilization, indicating that transcriptomic analysis could be conducted using anti-doping samples collected or biobanked without RNA preservation.

Concise Review: Considering Optimal Temperature for Short-Term Storage of Epithelial Cells

Transplantation of novel tissue-engineered products using cultured epithelial cells is gaining significant interest. While such treatments can readily be provided at centralized medical centers, delivery to patients at geographically remote locations requires the establishment of suitable storage protocols. One important aspect of storage technology is temperature. This paper reviews storage temperature for above-freezing point storage of human epithelial cells for regenerative medicine purposes. The literature search uncovered publications on epidermal cells, retinal pigment epithelial cells, conjunctival epithelial cells, corneal/limbal epithelial cells, oral keratinocytes, and seminiferous epithelial cells. The following general patterns were noted: (1) Several studies across different cell types inclined toward 4 and 16°C being suitable short-term storage temperatures. Correspondingly, almost all studies investigating 37°C concluded that this storage temperature was suboptimal. (2) Cell death typically escalates rapidly following 7–10 days of storage. (3) The importance of the type of storage medium and its composition was highlighted by some of the studies; however, the relative importance of storage medium vs. storage temperature has not been investigated systematically. Although a direct comparison between the included investigations is not reasonable due to differences in cell types, storage media, and storage duration, this review provides an overview, summarizing the work carried out on each cell type during the past two decades.

Features of the purchase, acceptance, short-term storage and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables in retail outlets

The article establishes that the main technological processes for the promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables in retail outlets have their own specific features. In comparison with the wholesale trade, especially significant differences are noted in the short-term storage of fruit and vegetable products in the back rooms and trading floors of retail trade enterprises, which is due to the complexity of creating and maintaining an optimal temperature and humidity regime.