RELATIONSHIP OF THE TIME OF STORAGE AND TRANSFUSION REACTIONS TO PLATELET CONCENTRATES FROM BUFFY COATS

BACKGROUND: Transfusion reactions to platelet concentrates prepared fr om buffy coats (BC-PCs) were reviewed to determine the effect of some variables of BC-PC preparation and storage: time of BC storage before PC-PC preparation (1-2 days); time of BC-PC storage before transfusion (1-5 days); no white cell reduction versus laboratory and bedside BC- PC white cell reduction. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A multiple linear l ogistic regression model was used by which the relative effect of one variable is expressed as the relative risk of transfusion reaction aga inst a baseline level (I-day storage, no white cell reduction). RESULT S: During the 14 months of study, a total of 2707 BC-PC transfusions w ere given to 192 patients; 37 reactions (1.4%) were reported in 25 pat ients (13%). The transfusion reactions were febrile, nonhemolytic in 2 3 cases; allergic in 5; febrile and allergic in 2; and other in 7. The relative risk of transfusion reaction to BC-PCs prepared from BCs sto red for 2 days was 1.98 times that to BC-PCs prepared from BCs stored for 1 day (p = 0.07). The relative risk of transfusion reaction of 5-d ay-old BC-PCs was 10.7 times that of I-day-old BC-PCs (p = 0.001). The relative risk of transfusion reactions of BC-PCs white cell-reduced i n the laboratory and at the bedside were 0.65 (p = 0.3) and 1.87 (p = 0.1) times, respectively, that of non-white cell-reduced BC-PCs. CONCL USION: Time of storage seems to be an important variable associated wi th PC-PC transfusion reaction.