Fatal Yersinia enterocolitica sepsis after blood transfusion
Wright, D.C.; Selss, I.F.; Vinton, K.J.; Pierce, R.N.
Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 109(11): 1040-1042
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-9985 PMID: 3840356 Document Number: 258570
A patient with fatal Yersinia enterocolitica sepsis was seen recently in our intensive care unit. The patient had received two units of packed red blood cells during a surgical procedure. Cultures of the donor blood yielded Y enterocolitica, and a whole-organism enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of the donors' sera suggested a recent infection with Y enterocolitica in an asymptomatic donor. Though rare, Y enterocolitica, which can grow at the cold temperatures of refrigerated blood, should be considered as a possible source of sepsis following blood transfusion.