Ask a Pathologist: Warm Autoantibodies

Adsorption of autoantibodies in the presence of LISS to detect alloantibodies underlying warm autoantibodies.

BACKGROUND The safe transfusion of patients with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia requires an efficient and time-saving assay to detect alloantibodies underlying autoantibodies. Methods used include RBCs treated with ZZAP reagent, proteolytic enzyme, or untreated RBCs in the presence of PEG. We propose a method using LISS, which presents some advantages over previous methods. STUDY DESIGN AND...

Correlation between Warm Reactive Autoantibodies and the Monocyte Monolayer Assay

BACKGROUND: The monocyte monolayer assay (MMA) measures the adherence and phagocytosis of sensitized red cells with peripheral monocytes. The result of MMA may reflect the in vivo destruction of sensitized red blood cells (RBCs). STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood samples from 20 patients with warm reactive autoantibodies were investigated using the MMA. The Monocyte Index (MI) values > 5% were co...

How do I approach patients with warm-reactive autoantibodies?

W arm-reactive autoantibodies are the most common cause of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, with the incidence of these antibodies increasing with patient age. They have been reported in children as young as a few months of age, and there are two case reports of neonates who seem to have developed warm-reactive autoantibodies in utero. They are a relatively common finding at Arkansas Children’s Hos...

Autoantibodies with Mimicking Specificity Detected by the Dilution Technique in Patients with Warm Autoantibodies

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of autoantibodies with mimicking specificity by using the dilution technique, to assess the usefulness of the combination of the dilution technique and red blood cell (RBC) phenotyping, and to establish a pre-transfusion testing algorithm in patients with warm autoantibodies. METHODS Serum samples from 71 patients with warm aut...

Correlation Between Warm Reactive Autoantibodies And The Monocyte Monolayer Assay