Novel flow cytometry-based screening for bacterial contamination of donor platelet preparations compared with other rapid screening methods. Clin Chem

BACKGROUND: Bacterial contamination is the major in-fectious hazard associated with transfusion of platelets (PLTs). Routine testing for bacterial contamination in platelet units has become common, but transfusion-transmitted bacterial sepsis has not been eliminated. Here, we describe a novel flow cytometry–based method for point-of-issue screening of PLTs for bacte-rial contamination. METHODS: Weused the BactiFlow flow cytometer to de-tect and count bacteria based on esterase activity in viable cells. We compared the assay to incubation (BacT/Alert culture system) and rapid nucleic acid– based or immunoassay (reverse transcription PCR, Pan Genera Detection) methods. RESULTS: Weestablished a protocol for bacterial screen