Boucle yarn is a loose, three ply yarn with a characteristic curly appearance. Used in weaving, knitting, and crocheting, boucle...
Cold agglutinins are antibodies that cause clumping or agglutination of RBCs at cold temperatures in individuals with certain conditions or who are infected by particular organisms. Cold agglutinins are associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. M. pneumoniae has i antigen specificity to human RBC membranes. Fetal cells largely contain i antigens, but by 18 mo most cells carry the I antigen.
Patients with cold agglutinin syndrome usually exhibit a titer value above 1:512, with rare cases reportedly as low as 1:64. Normal individuals often have low levels of cold agglutinins. The test is not a direct measure of clinical significance and must be used in conjunction with other in vitro and in vivo parameters.