Bacterial contamination of platelet products in the Blood Transfusion Center of Isfahan, Iran

• Main Authors: Farzad, Baghi Baghban, Farshad, Baghban, Zahra, Bamzadeh, Nahid, Akbari, Mahsa, Khosravi Bakhtiari
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House 2016-11-01
• Series: GMS Hygiene and Infection Control
• Subjects: platelet concentrate; bacterial contamination; PCR
• Online Access: http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/dgkh/2016-11/dgkh000283.shtml

Aim: Overall the risk of transfusion transmitted infections has decreased, especially viral infections like HIV and hepatitis B and C. Bacterial contamination of blood and its cellular components, however, remains a common microbiological cause of transfusion associated morbidity and mortality. Platelets pose a special risk given their preservation methods. The incidence of these episodes needs to be assessed and updated on regular basis to accurately manage the risk of transfusion transmitted bacterial infections.Method: 2,000 platelet samples from the Blood Transfusion Center of were examined randomly during a 5-month period by bacterial culture and molecular tests. Four platelet samples were found to be contaminated with bacteria, giving a rate of contamination of 500 (0.2%) of tested platelets. Isolated bacteria included one each of , , and . Conclusion: Our study underlines the need for additional safety procedures like bacterial screening and pathogen reduction technology to further decrease the risk of transfusion associated bacterial infections.