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Bacterial survival in whole blood depends on plasma sensitivity and resistance to neutrophil killing
Author(s) -
Taha Mariam,
KyluikPrice Dana,
Kumaran Dilini,
Scott Mark D.,
Toyofuku Wendy,
RamirezArcos Sandra
Publication year - 2019
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.15550
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , serratia marcescens , staphylococcus epidermidis , streptococcus agalactiae , staphylococcus aureus , streptococcus pneumoniae , biology , staphylococcus , serratia , yersinia enterocolitica , streptococcus , escherichia coli , antibiotics , pseudomonas , biochemistry , genetics , gene
BACKGROUND Whole blood (WB) is held at room temperature for not more than 24 hours before blood component manufacturing. The ability of several culture collection, skin‐derived, and transfusion‐related bacteria to survive in WB stored at 22 ± 2°C for 24 hours was investigated in this study. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty‐one bacteria of the species Staphylococcus epidermidis , Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus capitis , Streptococcus agalactiae , Serratia liquefaciens , Serratia marcescens , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Escherichia coli , and Yersinia enterocolitica were inoculated into 7‐mL aliquots of WB at a concentration of 500 colony‐forming units (CFU)/mL. Spiked WB was stored aerobically at 22 ± 2°C, and bacterial viability and growth were monitored at 3, 8, and 24 hours during WB storage. Bacteria that showed decreased viability during WB incubation were further characterized for their sensitivity to plasma factors and neutrophil killing. RESULTS There were three different scenarios for bacterial behavior during the hold of WB at 22 ± 2°C. Five bacteria proliferated (p < 0.03), 11 remained viable or showed low proliferation, and a third group of five bacteria had decreased or lost viability (p < 0.01). Three of the latter five bacteria were plasma‐sensitive while the other two were plasma‐resistant but susceptible to neutrophil killing (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The bactericidal activity of WB can be the result of plasma sensitivity or neutrophil killing. Bacteria with a starting inoculum of 500 CFU/mL, and able to resist WB immune factors, can proliferate to clinically significant levels posing a potential safety risk to transfusion patients. Results of this pilot study should be validated under standard WB collection and storage conditions.