RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Unexpected antibody screening and identification tests are very important pre-transfusion tests for preventing transfusion reactions. Nowadays, the column agglutination test is widely used in Korea. The results of many studies that used this method showed the decreased frequency of nonsignificant cold antibodies and an increased frequency of warm antibodies when compared with other studies that used the tube test or the microplate test. This study was performed in order to determine the accurate frequency and distribution of unexpected alloantibody by using the column agglutination test. METHODS: We analyzed the results from 32,218 antibody screening tests with using LISS/Coombs cards and ID-DiaCell I and II for the transfusion candidates and patients with hemolytic anemia who were seen at Kyungpook National University Hospital during a recent eight-year period. RESULTS: According to the results of the antibody screening test, 188 samples (0.58%) out of all 32,218 samples, were shown to be positive. Unexpected alloantibodies were detected in 86 patients (0.27%) with using the antibody identification test. The antibodies that were detected most frequently were anti-E (29 samples), followed by anti-D (8 samples), anti-M (8 samples) and anti-c (7 samples). CONCLUSION: The frequency and distribution of unexpected antibodies at our hospital are similar with those obtained in other Korean studies. The detection rates of warm antibodies, including Rh antibodies, were high. The proportion of Rh antibodies in patients with a gestation history was significantly higher than that in the patients without a gestation history. This study shows once again that pregnancy affects the antibodies and this supports the relationship between pregnancy and antibody formation.