Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;34(3):206-11.
doi: 10.5581/1516-8484.20120051.

Alloimmunization screening after transfusion of red blood cells in a prospective study

Vitor Mendonça Alves  1 , Paulo Roberto Juliano Martins, Sheila Soares, Gislene Araújo, Luciana Cayres Schmidt, Sidneia Sanches de Menezes Costa, Dante Mário Langhi, Helio Moraes-Souza
Affiliations

Alloimmunization screening after transfusion of red blood cells in a prospective study

Vitor Mendonça Alves et al. Rev Bras Hematol Hemoter. 2012.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Several irregular red blood cell alloantibodies, produced by alloimmunization of antigens in transfusions or pregnancies, have clinical importance because they cause hemolysis in the fetus and newborn and in transfused patients.

Objective: a prospective analysis of patients treated by the surgical and clinical emergency services of Hospital de Clínicas of the Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (HC/UFTM), Brazil was performed to correlate alloimmunization to clinical and epidemiological data.

Methods: Blood samples of 143 patients with initial negative antibody screening were collected at intervals for up to 15 months after the transfusion of packed red blood cells. Samples were submitted to irregular antibody testing and, when positive, to the identification and serial titration of alloantibodies. The Fisher Exact test and Odds Ratio were employed to compare proportions.

Results: Fifteen (10.49%) patients produced antibodies within six months of transfusion. However, for 60% of these individuals, the titers decreased and disappeared by 15 months after transfusion. Anti-K antibodies and alloantibodies against antigens of the Rh system were the most common; the highest titer was 1:32 (anti-K). There was an evident correlation with the number of transfusions.

Conclusions: Given the high incidence of clinically important red blood cell alloantibodies in patients transfused in surgical and clinical emergency services, we suggest that phenotyping and pre-transfusion compatibilization for C, c, E, e (Rh system) and K (Kell system) antigens should be extended to all patients with programmed surgeries or acute clinical events that do not need emergency transfusions.

Keywords: Blood group antigens; Blood transfusion; Emergencies; Hemolysis; Immunophenotyping.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest disclosure: The authors declare no competing financial interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A - The type of alloantibody of alloimmunized patients who received packed RBC transfusions for surgical and medical emergencies *N.I. (Not identified).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Novaretti MC.Investigação laboratorial em pacientes com anticorpos eritrocitários In: Bordin JO, Langhi Júnior DM, Covas DT.Hemoterapia: fundamentos e prática. São Paulo: Atheneu; 2007. p 186-89
    1. Baptista-González HA, Rosenfeld-Mann F, Pérez-Pérez JD, Quintanar-Garcia E.Anticuerpos irregulares antieritrocitarios fuera del sistema ABO en el periodo perínatal. Bol Med Hosp Infant Mex. 1991; 48(11): 814-9 - PubMed
    1. Lee CK, Ma ES, Tang M, Lam CC, Lin CK, Chan LC.Prevalence and specificity of clinically significant red cell alloantibodies in Chinese women during pregnancy - a review of cases from 1997 to 2001. Transfus Med. 2003; 13(4): 227-31 - PubMed
    1. Serrano J.Incidencia y caracterización de anticuerpos eritrocitários en un banco de sangre hospitalario. Sangre (Barc). 1990; 35(5): 363-8 - PubMed
    1. Redman M, Regan F, Contreras M.A prospective study of the incidence of red cell alloimmunization following transfusion. Vox Sang. 1996; 71(4): 216-20 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources