Premium
Routine bacterial screening of apheresis platelets on D ay 4 using a rapid test: a 4‐year single‐center experience
Author(s) -
Dunbar Nancy M.,
Kreuter Justin D.,
MarxWood Cynthia R.,
Dumont Larry J.,
Szczepiorkowski Zbigniew M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.12083
Subject(s) - apheresis , plateletpheresis , medicine , platelet , immunology
Background The platelet (PLT) P an G enera D etection test ( PGD ) is a rapid bacterial detection system used to screen PLTs for bacterial contamination. We report a single center 46‐month experience with secondary screening of apheresis PLTs by PGD testing. Study Design and Methods Existing testing records of apheresis PLTs screened by PGD from J uly 2008 to A pril 2012 were reviewed. All PLT units were initially screened by routine postcollection culture methods. Secondary screening using PGD was performed for indated PLTs on PLT storage D ay 4 and for outdated PLTs on D ay 8. Results A total of 8535 apheresis PLTs were available in inventory during the study period. Of these, 5030 (58.9%) were dispensed and transfused before PGD testing and 3505 (41.1%) underwent PGD testing on D ay 4. Twenty‐five units tested on D ay 4 were PGD initial reactive (0.71%). All were confirmed to be false positive by repeat PGD testing in triplicate (n = 20) or by confirmatory culture (n = 5). An additional 364 units that were PGD nonreactive on D ay 4 were approved for transfusion on D ay 6 or D ay 7 due to urgent clinical need. A total of 371 outdated units underwent repeat PGD testing before discard on D ay 8; all were nonreactive. Conclusion Secondary PGD testing of culture‐screened apheresis PLTs results in low yield in a medium‐sized transfusion service. Use of PGD testing on D ay 4 may allow for extension of the apheresis PLT shelf life to D ay 7 for hospitals that face supply constraints.