Prevalence of red blood cell antibodies among transfused patients at Komfo Anokye teaching (Kath) hospital, Ghana

Antwi-Boateng, Lilian; Schonewille, Henk; Sackey, Bryan; Owusu‐Ofori, Shirley; Afriyie, Emmanuel K.

doi:10.4314/just.v34i3.4

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting on the prevalence and nature of RBC antibodies in transfused patients with SCD in Ghana. In our previous study, 9.4% of 106 patients, predominantly transfused adults with other diseases from the same area in Ghana, were alloimmunized . A meta‐analysis comprising 11 studies from SSA, and mainly in transfused patients of various ages with SCD, showed that 6.7% (95% CI, 5.7%–7.8%) had clinically significant RBC alloantibodies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Red blood cell alloimmunization and minor red blood cell antigen phenotypes in transfused Ghanaian patients with sickle cell disease

Antwi-Boateng

Campbell²,

Davenport

et al. 2019

Transfusion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND: The routine pretransfusion investigations in Southern Ghana involve only ABO-D blood group typing and ABO compatibility testing without screening for irregular red blood cell (RBC) antibodies. The prevalence and specificities of RBC antibodies and frequencies of most minor blood group antigens in transfused patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Ghana are not known and are the objectives of this study. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study that investigated transfused patients with SCD for the presence of irregular RBC antibodies and Rhesus, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, and Ss antigens.RESULTS: From a total of 154 patients (median age, 9 years), 10 patients (6.5%) possessed 13 antibodies, predominantly against D, C, and E antigens. In three patients, the antibodies (anti-D, anti-D + C, and anti-C + e) were against antigens they possessed by serology. Genotyping showed that two of these patients had variant RHCE genes that encode for weak and partial e antigens and one patient had a partial RHC gene. Frequencies of most RBC antigens were comparable with frequencies established among the African American population; however, K-k-and Jk(ab-) phenotypes were more frequent and were present in 21% and 17% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSION:The prevalence of RBC alloimmunization in transfused Ghanaian patients with SCD was 6.5% and the majority of antibodies were against antigens of the Rh system. Our findings stress the need to include pretransfusion testing for RBC antibodies in patients with SCD, to improve transfusion safety.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Red blood cell alloimmunization and minor red blood cell antigen phenotypes in transfused Ghanaian patients with sickle cell disease

Antwi-Boateng

Campbell²,

Davenport

et al. 2019

Transfusion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a recent systematic review, childhood malaria anaemia (with 20% of blood units), sickle cell disease (18% of blood units) and obstetric haemorrhage (16% of blood units) were cited as the main health problems requiring blood transfusion 1 . Despite the significant advances in transfusion safety over the past two decades, in Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries, matching of recipient and donor ABO and RhD antigens is most often the only mandatory pre‐transfusion test before red blood cell (RBC) transfusions 2–5 . No extended RBC antigen phenotyping or irregular antibody screening are routinely performed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Despite the significant advances in transfusion safety over the past two decades, in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, matching of recipient and donor ABO and RhD antigens is most often the only mandatory pre-transfusion test before red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. [2][3][4][5] No extended RBC antigen phenotyping or irregular antibody screening are routinely performed. This increases the risk of alloimmunization and delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions (DHTRs) among transfused patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and specificity of red blood cell antibodies in patients transfused in tertiary hospitals in Burkina Faso

Sawadogo

Nébié

Traoré

et al. 2023

Transfusion Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Sub‐Saharan African countries face the challenge of immunological transfusion safety that puts many patients at risk of post‐transfusion hemolytic reactions. This is because pre‐transfusion testing for irregular/unexpected antibodies that helps to prevent these risks are neither universally available nor accessible. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of red blood cell alloantibodies and their specificity in patients transfused in Burkina Faso. Materials and Methods This was a cross‐sectional study including patients who had received at least one blood transfusion. Indirect antiglobulin testing using LISS‐enhanced medium gel column agglutination technique was used for antibodies screening and identification. Enzymatic technique with papain‐treated red cell reagent was performed in attempt to solve some difficulties if necessary as well as auto‐control test and RH‐KEL phenotyping when possible to help antibodies identification. Results A total of 832 patients were included, 51.6% of whom were female, and the median (IQR) age was 34 (20–49) years. Of these, 43.7% had chronic kidney disease and 20.4% were sickle cell patients. The median (IQR) number of immunisation episodes (blood transfusion and pregnancies) was 3 (2–6) with the median (IQR) number of blood units received per patient of 2 (1–5). The proportion of patients with RBCs antibodies was 6.4% (53/832), with mainly anti‐Rh antibodies. A combination of 2 antibodies was found in 7 patients and a combination of 3 antibodies in one patient. Antibodies of unknown specificity (AUS) were encountered in 29%. Independent factors associated with antibody positivity were age (OR = 1.02; p = 0.026), sickle cell disease (OR = 3.23; p = 0.017) and receiving more than 10 blood units (OR = 7.33; p = 0.01). Conclusion In this study, the proportion of patients with RBC antibodies was quite similar to that observed in Sub‐Saharan African countries. However, the availability and accessibility of pre‐transfusion compatibility tests as well as the quality of methods used should be improved to ensure the safety of blood transfusions.

show abstract

Feasibility and performance of in-house red blood cell reagents to detect unexpected antibodies in immunized patients in Burkina Faso

Sawadogo,

Nebie,

Kima

et al. 2023

Immunohematology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In sub-Saharan Africa, antibody detection tests remain inaccessible because of the high cost and limited shelf life of red blood cell (RBC) reagents. This study aimed at investigating the feasibility and performance of locally prepared RBC reagents for antibody detection in Burkina Faso. We conducted an experimental study comparing commercial RBC panels and a local panel prepared from phenotyped blood donors in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Antibody detection testing was performed by the indirect antiglobulin test using a gel card filtration column in a low-ionic-strength solution. Judgment criteria were the concordance rate and the kappa agreement coefficient of results generated by the two panels. A total of 302 blood donors were phenotyped for the major antigens of the RH, KEL, MNS, FY, JK, LE, and P1PK blood group systems. From this pool of donors, we designed an RBC detection panel that was used to screen for unexpected antibodies in 1096 plasma samples from 832 patients with a history of transfusion and 264 recently delivered or pregnant women with no history of blood transfusion. A positive antibody detection test was observed in 8.1 percent of the samples using the local panel versus 6.4 percent with the commercial panels. A total of 23 samples were negative with the commercial panels and positive with the local panel, while the findings were reversed for four samples. The concordance rate was 97.5 percent, and the kappa agreement coefficient was 0.815. Our results suggest that the development of local RBC panels can be an alternative to commercial panels in countries with limited resources. It could also be a cost-effective intervention, mainly for children under 5 years of age, women of childbearing age, and pregnant women, all of whom are most at risk for malaria and sickle cell disease complications. Blood services could develop and implement appropriate strategies to make phenotyped donor pools available for the design of suitable RBC panels.

show abstract

Prevalence of red blood cell antibodies among transfused patients at Komfo Anokye teaching (Kath) hospital, Ghana

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Red blood cell alloimmunization and minor red blood cell antigen phenotypes in transfused Ghanaian patients with sickle cell disease

Red blood cell alloimmunization and minor red blood cell antigen phenotypes in transfused Ghanaian patients with sickle cell disease

Prevalence and specificity of red blood cell antibodies in patients transfused in tertiary hospitals in Burkina Faso

Feasibility and performance of in-house red blood cell reagents to detect unexpected antibodies in immunized patients in Burkina Faso

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About