Assessment of Qualitative and Quantitative Changes in 5 days stored Platelet Concentrates in a tertiary care Hospital of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Background: The fast growing demand for platelet concentrates (PC) necessitates the storage of these blood products prior to transfusion. Platelets are prepared as concentrates from the whole blood or by plateletpheresis. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of these PCs are an important issue in transfusion medicine. Aim of the study To assess the qualitative, quantitative changes and bacteriological safety of 5 days stored platelet concentrates (PC).Material & Methods:This prospective study was conducted at the department of Clinical Pathology in collaboration with the department of Transfusion medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka during April 2008 to April 2009. A total of 65 healthy donors were included for the study as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Therefore, 65 platelet concentrates (bags/units) were prepared from the donors. Purposive sampling of the units was done. pH and platelet indices (PLT, MPV, PDW and P-LCR) were measured and Gram staining of PCs were performed on day 0 and 5. Statistical significant tests were done at 95% confidence interval using statistical package for social science (SPSS).Results:The mean (±SD) pH was 7.18±0.07 ranging from 7.0 to 7.3 during day 0. During day 5 the mean (±SD) pH was 6.77±0.11 and their range was from 6.5 to 7. The mean pH difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) between day 0 and day 5. The mean (±SD) PLT/unit was 70.56±15.56 x109/unit and it ranged from 38.01 to 110.6 x109/unit during day 0. During day 5 the mean (±SD) PLT/unit level was 68.46±15.52 x109/unit and it ranged from 36.82 to 107.2 x109/unit. The mean PLT/unit difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) between day 0 and day 5. The mean (±SD) MPV was 9.34±0.92 fl and it ranged from 7.5 to 11.5 fl during day 0. During day 5 the mean (±SD) MPV was 9.27±0.99 fl ranging from 7.0 to 11.2 fl. The mean (±SD) PDW was 10.07±1.61 fl and which ranged from 7.4 to 14.4 fl during day 0. During day 5 the mean (±SD) PDW was 10.72±1.71 fl ranging from 7.0 to 15.4 fl. The mean (±SD) PLCR was 18.28±5.67 % and it ranged from 8.0 to 32.5 % during day 0. During day 5 the mean (±SD) PLCR was 21.18±5.91 % and it ranged from 10.0 to 36.3 %. The mean PLT, PDW and PLCR difference were statistically significant (p<0.05) between day 0 and day 5 in unpaired t-test, however the mean MPV difference was not statistically significant (p<0.05) between day 0 and day 5. Gram staining of platelet concentrates on day 0 and day 5 found no bacteria.Conclusions:Storage-induced lesions take place in PCs, when stored for 5 days in second generation storage containers under the currently recommended conditions, but how far these change are clinically relevant need to be investigated