Ask a Pathologist. Blood Product Contamination

BLOOD coagulation and the clinical pathologist.

Confronted by the contents of this issue, the reader may be surprised, even dismayed, by the preponderance of papers on blood coagulation, and he may protest that the usual balance between the branches of pathology is also upset. (This will be rectified in future issues.) He may feel that the importance of this subject to him, as a clinical pathologist, is unlikely to justify the effort require...

Contamination of blood cultures.

The pathologist as a teacher.

The Department of Pathology in an academic center plays a critical role in the life of the institution. In addition to playing an essential role in patient care, we pathologists teach our nonpathology colleagues and serve in a consultative role, thus earning the appellation of “the doctor’s doctor.” Traditionally, pathologists have taught medical students in the preclinical years and in patholo...

Bacterial contamination of blood components

Bacterial contamination of blood components is a persistent but often overlooked problem in transfusion medicine. Although public attention has focused on transfusion-transmitted viral infection, improved methods of screening through donor questioning and testing have greatly reduced the transmission of hepatitis viruses and retroviruses. Given the reduction of viral transmission via allogeneic...

Contamination of Blood Cultures 1055

Contamination of blood cultures is believed to occur mainly during the venepuncture procedure. Consequently, meticulous preparation of the venepuncture site is widely recommended. To determine whether the contamination rate is indeed affected by the quality of the antiseptic procedure at the venepuncture site, 181 paired cultures were collected from 176 patients during a 6-month period after ei...