Tài liệu Báo cáo khoa học: "Nucleated red blood cells in the blood of medical intensive care patients indicat

Under normal conditions, the peripheral blood of healthy adults is generally free of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs), which tend to be found in patients with severe diseases [1-5] who have a relatively poor prognosis [3,4,6-9]. In most of the earlier studies on NRBCs, the concentration was determined microscopically by a stained peripheral blood smear. With such a technique, it is difficult to detect NRBC concentrations of less than 200/àl [10]. For several years, a more convenient and sensitive technique has been available in the form of mechanized blood analyzers. With such an analyzer, one can routinely determine NRBC concentrations of less than 100/àl [11-13] The results of our recent studies with this new technique indicate that the detection of NRBCs may serve as an early indicator in patients at increased risk of mortality: on average, the presence of NRBCs was detected 1 to 3 weeks mbefore death [14,15].