Coagulase‐negative staphylococcal contamination of whole blood and its components:the effects of WBC reduction

Abstract

The growth characteristics of CNS in blood components vary with differences either in the subtype of bacteria or in the donor blood. Filtration reduces but does not eradicate contamination of RBCs and platelets by CNS. Plasma may act as a reservoir for CNS infection.

Impact on Patient Outcome Following Transfusion of Bacterially Contaminated Platelets

“…Similarly, 51 patients who received bacterially contaminated platelets and were receiving antibiotic therapy at the time of transfusion did not manifest any type of symptoms. We isolated mostly gram-positive bacteria, primarily coagulase-negative staphylococci, from contaminated platelets, which is concordant with published literature 9,11,28 and indicates contamination from the donors' skin flora. Coagulase-negative staphylococci have been involved in severe sepsis after transfusion of contaminated platelets, 12 but most cases of severe sepsis are secondary to contamination with gram-negative organisms, in which endotoxin can contribute to morbidity.…”

Elimination and multiplication of bacteria during preparation and storage of buffy coat–derived platelet concentrates

“…In those experiments in which bacterial load could be monitored, filtration reduced bacterial titers by approximately 0.5 to 1.5 log. But as shown by Buchholz and coworkers 20 and by Holden and coworkers, 21 filtration alone does not completely eradicate bacterial contamination of PCs. This confirms the assumption that WBC filtration cannot be regarded as a primary strategy for dealing with bacterial overgrowth in PCs and other blood components 14,20 …”

Bacterial contamination of blood products: Factors, options, and insights

“…In the case of Yersinia enterocolitica, prestorage leukodepletion by ®ltration actually is associated with a decrease in bacterial growth in inoculated red blood cells [12,42,43,76±80]. However, pre-storage ®ltration does not appear to eect bacterial growth in platelets [59,81,82]. AuBuchon and Pickard showed with a panel of bacterial organisms that there are dierences in the anity of red cell leukodepletion ®lters and platelet leukodepletion ®lters in regard to their anity for bacteria by direct adherence [83].…”