Status:
Ready to upload
Record number:
1316
Adverse Occurrence type:
MPHO Type:
Estimated frequency:
Transfusion-transmitted Salmonella has been recognized in at least 2 other occasions, but is a relatively rare cause of transfusion-transmitted sepsis. Of blood components, platelets are most commonly associated with bacterial contamination due to their storage at room temperature.
Time to detection:
minutes - 1 hour
Alerting signals, symptoms, evidence of occurrence:
The apheresis donation produced a split unit, which was given to two patients. One recipient had symptoms during transfusion, with nausea, vomiting, chills, and fever (temperature of up to 40°C); the second patient had chills, fever, tachycardia, and respiratory distress requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation occurred within an hour of transfusion, progressing to refractory septic shock and death.
Demonstration of imputability or root cause:
Definite; organism was cultured from both recipients and a pet snake owned by the donor; all isolates were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.
Imputability grade:
3 Definite/Certain/Proven
Groups audience:
Keywords:
Suggest new keywords:
blood transfusion, apheresis platelets, split, gram negative organisms, PFGE (pulsed field gel electrophoresis), platelets, salmonella, snake
Suggest references:
Jafari, M., Forsberg, J., Gilcher, R.O., Smith, J.W., Crutcher, J.M., McDermott, M., Brown, B.R. and George, J.N (2002). Salmonella sepsis caused by a platelet transfusion from a donor with a pet snake. N Engl J Med 347(14): 1075-78.