A laboratory comparison of pathogen reduction technology treatment and culture of platelet products for addressing bacterial contamination concerns

Abstract

The results from this work suggest that the riboflavin and UV light process may provide up to 98% protection against transfusion of bacterially contaminated units at the most clinically relevant contamination levels (<20 CFUs per product). This compares favorably to the 60% to 66% effectiveness of bacterial culture testing using a 48-hour quarantine period before product release.