Wednesday, May 09, 2007

+281 - Coombs Tests

The Indirect Coombs test was negative. The Direct Coombs test was positive. This does not mean he has Coombs b/c both the Indirect and Direct have to be positive to be Coombs. He does not have a super bad case of anemia. Those with hemolytic anemia have sharp drops in hemoglobin and are really sick. Dr. Glader, David's hematologist, is reviewing the information. Dr. Dvorak explained that his red cells have antibodies on them. They should be able to wash those antibodies off, but they can't. They are not sure if it's because the antibodies are so small or if there are not enough to wash off. They said this is very unusual, not to be able to wash the antibodies off. This is why the Indirect Coombs test is negative. I'm not sure I have all this information correct, just for the record.

No comments: