Bacterial Detection Method

[Dawn]

I'd love to know what everyone is doing about this.

[pmalone@cbccts.org]

Community Blood Center/Cmmunity Tissue Services uses BacT/Alert.

[rlofton]

None, our supplier does testing, we transfuse.

[schorj]

We use pH paper to check the pH of all units. Any units with a pH of 7.0 or lower are checked with a hand held pH meter before the platelet unit is returned to our blood center for cultering.

[Kevin]

We use the dipstick pH as do many area facilities to test our random units. Our blood supplier is using the BacT Alert for testing apheresis platelets.

[bbkdiane]

Two very large AABB accredited, CAP accredited hospitals in the extreme southeast are using "swirl" until the supplier can get their act together. What a mess!

[bbkdiane]

I know of 2 very large AABB, CAP hospitals in the extreme southeast that are using the old fashioned "swirl" technique until the supplier can do their job and test randoms appropriately. What a cop out by the suppliers!!!

[Gloria]

I recently joined an institution that relies on the blood center using the swirl technique: we are not AABB, but the CAP checklist does not say this is not acceptable. As a matter of fact, they were inspected by CAP last year and did not have that counted as a deficiency. However, I contacted CAP and was told that the new checklist will have a revision of the question of testing for bacterial contamination and the swirl technique will not be acceptable.

[Sandy Smietana]

Our blood bank is staffed by Generalists for second and third shifts, we choose to use a mini pH meter with a digital read out. It was easier and faster than to try to train everyone on the dip stick method. We're still waiting for an "approved" test.

[Stephanie]

We are a collection center and we do not test. The testing is done by dip stick at the hospitals. We then credit them for any plt. that does not pass.

[mtheriault]

I'd love to know what everyone is doing about this.

We use pH and glucose on dipstick.

[cathy s rawcliffe]

Our facility used to double seal a section of the remaining tubing and cut it off and submit to Bacteriology ...did this on every unit for a long time until we determined that was not a problem, then continued to monitor once a month for QA issue. This worked well. If we pooled platelets, also did that on the pool tubing to monitor our technique!

Am retired now after 32 years , so don't know if they continued that momnitoring process!

cathy

[kate murphy]

We are a large trauma center. Our randoms are tested by collection facilities. Any randoms from a center that does not test, we dip for both pH and Glu. Our own pheresis plts are cultured using VersaTrek (which we validated)

[DFields]

Of those sites doing cultures, does everyone do both aerobic and anaerobic? Recently I had read article(s) that both are required but is this true?

[kate murphy]

We validated both aerobic and anaerobic, but we only culture aerobic. The theory being you are looking for skin contaminants.