HEMOLYTIC TRANSFUSION REACTION DUE TO RH ANTIBODIES DETECTABLE ONLY BY MANUAL POLYBRENE AND POLYETHYLENE-GLYCOL TECHNIQUE

The authors report two cases of severe hemolytic transfusion reaction (HTR) attributable to Rh antibodies, which were not detectable by the saline indirect antiglobulin test (SIAT), low ionic strength saline so lution technique (LISS), or two-stage enzyme (Enz) indirect antiglobul in test (IAT), but were readily detectable by the manual polybrene tec hnique (MPT), MPT-IAT, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) IAT. With rare ex ceptions, Rh antibodies can usually be easily detected by the SIAT or Enz-IAT, and seldom cause intravascular HTR. The two cases in this rep ort illustrate the value of the MPT and PEG-IAT in the detection of cl inically significant Rh antibodies that would not otherwise be detecta ble by conventional methods.