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Background The aims of this study were to compare the diagnostic accuracy of blood smear review criteria, by means of three different panel rules, those proposed by: the International Consensus Group for Hematology [41- ICGH rules], the Italian Survey [ IS rules] and the Working Group on Hematology- SIBioC ( WGH) consensus rules ( WGH rules). Methods This study is based on 2707 peripheral blood ( PB) samples referred for routine hematological testing to the WGH-associated laboratories displaced all over the Italian territory. The PB samples were processed on seven different hematology analyzers ( HAs): Advia 2120i, XE-2100, BC-6800, ABX Pentra, XN-1000, Cell-DYN Sapphire, and DxH800, respectively. All the results provided by the HAs were analyzed through the application of three different blood smear review criteria: that is, the 41- ICGH, IS, and WGH rules. Finally, data were compared with those obtained by optical microscopy ( OM), as the current gold standard. Results The overall the agreement OM classification with ICGH, IS, and WGH panel rules is 0.83, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. The false negatives are 2.1%, 3.0%, and 2.9%, while false positives are 15.1%, 13.7%, and 11.7%, respectively. All the seven HAs showed variable interinstrument performance, as three different criteria for OM review were adopted on each of them from time to time. Conclusion These results presented show that the customization of validation rules is necessary for enhancing the quality of hematological testing and optimizing workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immunotherapy has brought clinical benefits to patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC). Most patients tolerate immunotherapy but serious immune-related adverse events (irAEs) have been reported. Some studies indicate a correlation between irAEs and clinical response in other cancer types (eg, lung cancer and melanoma). For patients with mRCC, the impact of irAE on clinical outcome is unknown., Patients and Methods: A retrospective review of 167 patients with mRCC treated with nivolumab as standard of care between March 2017 and January 2018 in 16 Italian centers was performed. irAEs were assessed using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v.4.0., Results: Any grade and grade 3/4 irAEs occurred in 46% and 8.9% of patients, respectively. The median time to appearance of irAEs was 10 weeks; 38.8% of patients required steroid treatment. The most common irAEs were cutaneous (33.7%) and gastrointestinal (23.3%). The median overall survival and progression-free survival were 20.13 and 7.86 months, respectively. Patients with irAEs showed a greater overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.63) and progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.29-0.66) benefit as well as better overall response rate (27.3% vs. 13.7%; odds ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.03-5.44) and disease control rate (68.8% vs. 48%; odds ratio, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.23-4.67) if compared with those without irAEs. No correlation was found between steroid use and clinical outcomes., Conclusions: Our analysis revealed that the appearance of irAEs was associated with better outcomes in patients treated with nivolumab. This data may be limited by sample size and the retrospective nature of the study., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The correctness of the results of automated platelet analysis is still highly debated. The aim of this multicenter study, conducted according to international guidelines, was to verify the analytical performance of nine different types of hematology analyzers (HAs) in the automated platelet analysis., Methods: Four hundred eighty-six peripheral blood samples (PB), collected in K 3 EDTA tubes, were analyzed by ABX Pentra, ADVIA2120i, BC-6800, BC-6800 Plus, Cell-DYN Sapphire, DxH800, XE-2100, XE-5000, XN-20 with PLT-F App. Within-run imprecision and between-run imprecision were carried out using PB and material control, respectively. The carryover, low limit of quantification (LoQ), and the PB stability were evaluated., Results: The carryover was absent for all HAs. The LoQ of PLT ranged between 2.0 (Cell-Dyn Sapphire) and 25.0 × 10 9 /L (ADVIA 2120i), while immature platelet fraction (IPF) ranged between 1.0 (XN-20) and 12.0 × 10 9 /L (XE-5000). The imprecision (%CV) increases as the platelet count decreases. No HAs showed desirable CV APS for PLT counts less than 50.0 × 10 9 /L, with the exception of Cell-DYN Sapphire (CV 3.0% with PLT-O mean value of 26.7 × 10 9 /L), XN-20 (CV 2.4% with PLT-F mean value of 21.5 × 10 9 /L), and BC-6800 Plus (CV 1.9% with PLT-O mean value of 26.5 × 10 9 /L). The sample stability ranged between under two hours for MPV by ADVIA2120i and 8 hours for other PLT parameters and HAs., Conclusion: The findings of this study may provide useful information regarding carryover, precision, and stability of platelet counts and parameters, especially in thrombocytopenic samples. Moreover, the stability of sample for platelet analysis is conditioned by the HA and by temperature and storage time., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Isolated left ventricular non-compaction is the result of incomplete myocardial morphogenesis, leading to persistence of the embryonic myocardium. The condition is recognized by an excessively prominent trabecular meshwork and deep intertrabecular recesses of the left ventricle. Whether these intertrabecular recesses are a favorable substrate for ventricular arrhythmias is unclear. Some reports have found that the fatal ventricular arrhythmias may occur in approximately half of the patients. In this report we investigated about this association., Methods and Results: In total we evaluated a continuous series of 238 patients affected by non-compaction. Periodic Holter monitoring was performed every 6 months for 4 years. Only 11 patients had documented ventricular tachycardia, which was sustained in two cases and non-sustained in nine. In no cases we observed ventricular fibrillation., Conclusions: Non-compaction alone does not seem to be a risk factor for malignant ventricular arrhythmias.