Bloody Minded

Help! After a disastrous 3 way ward swap you now have to cover the haem ward as an intern in... 45 minutes time. If only there were some way you could get a crash course on everything you might need to know. Well are you in luck today! Join our new guest host Dr Alison Chandler for a whole new subtype of episodes, our new "On the Wards" series. “ These are for those new interns and resid...

Tired of listening to the three of us? Why not listen to an actual expert!? Today we're joined by Dr Danny Hsu , consultant haematologist, clinical lead of Immune Haematology & Therapeutic Apheresis at Liverpool Hospital, THANZ council member and all around top bloke to dig down into the nitty gritty of TTP and PNH.  Any question you might have about these conditions Dr Hsu is your go to....

Have you been spending too much time outside of the lab lately? So have we! Come with us on a whirlwind tour through the high altitudes of thermal amplitudes, the chilly depths of cold agg titres, the bright lights of EMA testing, the flocculated wetlands of unstable haemoglobins (don’t ask) and more! All from the safety of the lab, of course. We don’t go outside. Timestamps 2:14 - Cold agglutinin...

Do you have a FLAER for the exotic? All at sea without your GPI-anchor? Come on a deep dive into the world of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria - which isn’t really a disease of haemolysis at all but hey we're putting it here anyway and you can't stop us Timestamps 1:46 - What is PNH? Baby don't hurt me... 4:48 - Signs and Symptoms 7:27 - Pathophysiology 11:27 - Diagnosis 17:04 -...

MAHA TMA Gandhi once said a cell for a cell makes the whole body anaemic, or something along those lines. There’s so much more to DAT negative haemolysis than just DIC. Get out those buckets and put your sorting hats on - it’s time to go where detective Coombs never dared to and look over the DAT negative haemolytic processes.  Timestamps 2:42 - Approach to DAT negatives - main categories 4:53 - I...

Grab your hot beverage of choice and come out of the cold as we give you a warm welcome to the world of cold-dependent antibodies! No need to cry(o) as we unpack CAD vs CAS, get personal with PCH and gaze without alliteration at whatever the hell cryoglobulins are.  If you're desperate for a medical reason to move to the tropics, this is the episode for you. 00:58 - Deliberately inflammatory...

Is there a glow surrounding your red cells? Things feeling heated in your reticuloendothelial system? An antibody to keep your bed warm at night? We don’t know where this is going either but grab a coconut and hop in the pool because we are excited to welcome you back with a chat about warm autoimmune haemolysis!  Timestamps 00:57 - Introduction & Case 05:08 - wAIHA - What is it? 07:04 - Remin...

Feel your knowledge fragmenting? A MAHA doesn't make you haha? I mean, that's probably a good thing - they're quite serious. Time to unpack the troublesome schistocytes. Hope you brought your helmets as we teach you the bare minimum about fragments so you can save lives on the ward.  Timestamps 02:26 -  What is a red cell fragment?  06:09 -  How are schistocytes born?  09:40 -  DIC....

“ It’s Test . Coombs Test. And I like my erythrocytes shaken, not stirred.” Return the lab (where some of the Bloody Minded Crew truly belong) and uncover the secrets of the most important test in haemolysis - the Direct Antiglobulin Test . Learn to whisper its secrets and it can guide you to identifying the true culprit behind these broken red cells.  Timestamps: 0:57 - Coombs Noir 2:05 - Naming...

Haemolysis? Do I really hapto send off more tests? This is reticulous! Now you know what a red cell is - lets learn about how they can break down. Join us as we explore what your boss actually wanted you to do when they asked for a haemolysis screen, and about Cale's deep seated distrust of hepatologists.  Timestamps 2:30 - Haemolysis - what is it (good for?) 7:58 - Reticulocytes? What a reti...

What is blood (Baby don't hurt me)? Rejoice as we escape the land of coagulation and look at some of the questions we have all asked during our medical training- what is blood? Does everybody have blood? Why is there so much of it on this floor? Who are you and how did you get in here? Join us as we we answer all these questions and more this episode with a focus on red cells.  Timestamps 1:3...

Echis carinatus, Daboia russelii, Uxyuranus scullatellas. Never has so much been owed by so many humans to so few... snakes. In this split episode, For the first time the Bloody Minded Crew is delighted to welcome guests! Join our coagulation experts Dr Maeve Crowley and Kent Chapman for a tour of the wonderful world of exotic clotting times. This episode was so big we split it in half! In Part 2...

Echis carinatus, Daboia russelii, Uxyuranus scullatellas. Never has so much been owed by so many humans to so few... snakes. For the first time the Bloody Minded Crew is delighted to welcome guests! Join consultant haematologist Dr Maeve Crowley and senior hospital scientist Kent Chapman for a tour of the wonderful world of exotic clotting times.  This episode was so big we had to split it in two!...

The Bethesda Assay has been tormenting haematology trainees since well before Fallout or Skyrim. Uncover its secrets in this episode and you'll be sorting acquired haemophilia faster than you can say Fus Ro Dah  Timestamps: 01:50 - Bethesda Assay Intro 05:17 - How it works (and Bethesda Units) 10:25 - Nijmegen modification & dealing with Emicizumab 13:48 - Bethesda Assay summary for Exams...

One step, two step, red step, blue step! Get stuck in to assessing factor levels in this episode looking at the differences between one and two step factor assays, the basis of chromogenic testing and how to resolve discrepancies between different methods.  Timestamps: 01:33 Intro to Factor Assays 04:33 One-Stage Assays 09:33 Historical Diversion - What's an IU? 15:28 Factor VIII levels 17:15...

Finding your coagulation knowledge "LAC-ing"? Do you also hate things that were named terribly and thrive on pedantry? This week we pop the hood on that most mysterious of lab tests - the lupus anticoagulant. Listen to this episode again in 12 weeks time for an authentic lupus anticoagulant experience.  Timestamps: 02:10 - Introducing the LAC 04:47 - What's in a name - nomenclature...

To infinXa and beyond! Let go of your veXation and eXalt our eXacting approach to coagulation testing. You'll know eXactly what you need for your eXams as long as they ask you about anti-Xa testing, thrombin times, fibrinogen and absolutely nothing else.  Timestamps 0:00 - Introductions 2:40 - Thombin Time - Lab 5:45 - Thrombin Time - Clinical 9:24 - Thrombin Time - Variants 11:06 - Anti-Xa I...

 Being alone can be difficult - and we would know! How should we think about a long aPTT when the rest of the coag screen looks normal? Join Bloody Minded crew as we learn how to tackle this surprisingly common (and surprisingly tricky) problem. Timestamps 00:00 - Introductions 02:21 - aPTT Revision 03:59 - A case 08:04 - Testing for heparins 10:10 - Back to the case 11:10 - DOACs and the aPTT 12:...

 “Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time?“ Senior scientists Vladimir and Estragon are waiting quite a while for a clot to form in their tube. How should you react to prolonged clotting times? We cover an approach to prolonged PT and aPTT, as well as discuss the mechanism of common anticoagulants and their impact on these basic tests.   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:22 - Episode 2 R...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a JMO in possession of a coagulation tube will underfill it. But why should it matter?! In this episode, we review the principles behind the two most important coagulation screening tests (The PT and the aPTT) as well as follow the journey of that precious citrated sample through the lab. By the end, you’ll know enough to at least feel guilty when you st...

Optional Introductions - Skip to Episode 1 if you're after content We're excited to launch Bloody Minded - a haematology podcast for those who want an extra little drop of knowledge no matter where you are in your medical journey. Learn a little bit about your hosts and how we'll be formatting this show Support the show Check out show notes, additional references and (sometimes) ext...

Surely it's just clot or no clot right? Join your intrepid guides Nick, Cale and Bashar as we help you master the med school coagulation cascade and its relevance (or lack of) to laboratory testing of haemostasis.  Wait what’s that? Everything you’ve been taught so far is an irrelevant lie? Bring yourself up to speed with the cellular model of coagulation and learn what really happens to make...