ARE CYTOKINES IN PLATELET CONCENTRATES RESPONSIBLE FOR FEBRILE TRANSFUSION REACTIONS

In recent years, several studies have identified the leukocyte content and the age of the blood components as dominant factors in febrile tr ansfusion reactions (FTRs). At present, extensive efforts are being ma de to reduce adverse effects by implementation and/or introduction of new methods for leukodepletion of blood components and by studying the mechanisms responsible for these phenomena. A recent approach has bee n the evaluation of cytokines in platelet concentrates and this issue has been addressed with some detail in this review. Comparative data c urrently available on levels of cytokines in the different platelet co ncentrates is provided along with the functional role of the detected cytokines in including adverse reactions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Lt d.