Optimized Scansystem platelet kit for bacterial detection with enhanced sensitivity: detection within 24 h after spiking.

Background and Objectives  The prevention and detection of bacterial contamination of platelet concentrates remains a major challenge for transfusion medicine. To be suitable for blood-transfusion services, the contamination detection method must be highly sensitive, easy to perform and preferably of low cost. In this spiking study, we evaluated the new optimized Scansystem™ Platelet Kit detection method for use on apheresis platelets. Study Design and Methods  Apheresis platelet concentrates (APCs) were individually spiked with 10 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml of one of 10 different strains of bacteria. The spiked APCs were analysed at specific time-points during incubation by using the optimized Scansystem™ Platelet Kit. Bacterial enumeration was performed by plating onto blood agar. Results  All the bacterial strains tested were detected by using the optimized Scansystem™ Platelet Kit when sampled 24 h after spiking. Compared to the Scansystem™ standard kit, sensitivity was increased to < 50 CFU/ml. The identity of the spiked bacteria was confirmed by Gram staining and DNA fingerprinting. Conclusion  The optimized Scansystem™ Platelet Kit was able to reliably detect, within 70 min, 10 transfusion-relevant bacterial species in APCs when a sample volume was taken 24 h after spiking. This is the first study carried out by using the optimized Scansystem™ bacterial detection that was found to have an enhanced sensitivity compared to the standard kit.