Authors' results and conclusions: Studies included for assessment in this report described the safety and effectiveness of blood products treated with pathogen reduction technology (PRT) systems; however none of the included studies reported on the ability of these systems to reduce blood borne infection in transfused patients. In transfused patients, both the Mirasol PRT system and the INTERCEPT blood system/amotosalen PRT method appear to be effective on the basis of comparable patient outcomes for haemostatic function. The majority of adverse events were either attributable, or likely to have resulted from underlying morbidity rather than any direct effects of PRT treated blood products. The majority of good quality randomised controlled trial evidence reported similar safety outcomes for patients transfused with INTERCEPT/amotosalen-treated platelets compared to those who received standard treated platelets. It is feasible that an immune response may be mounted to residual amotosalen in INTERCEPT treated platelets, which may result in inflammation leading to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome or acute lung injury, especially in immune-compromised patients. The supply of a safe blood supply is an exercise in risk assessment and a trade-off between the potential risk of the rare event of a transfusion transmitted infection occurring, and the cost of new technologies to reduce this risk further. The choice of whether to adopt universal PRT will depend on a risk assessment which characterises the potential for exposure to known and unknown blood-borne pathogens and determine whether further diminishment of risk is worth the additional costs of PRT. It would be prudent to await further assessments of these pathogen reduction products, especially in regard to any potential allergic/immune reactions. These products are in wide use in Europe and access to information regarding any adverse events from these centres would be of value to inform the discussion in Australia further. In addition, it is recommended that a cost-effectiveness analysis in the context of the Australian health system be conducted assessing the use of pathogen reduction technologies as both an additive and replacement risk reduction measure.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2011

URL for published report: Not Available

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Other

Country: Australia

Organisation Name: Adelaide Health Technology Assessment

Contact Address: School of Public Health, Mail Drop 545, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, AUSTRALIA, Tel: +61 8 8313 4617

Contact Name: ahta@adelaide.edu.au

Contact Email: ahta@adelaide.edu.au

Copyright: Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA)