Volume 17, Number 11—November 2011
Letter
Transfusion-transmitted Syphilis in Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Alex K. Owusu-Ofori
, Christopher M. Parry, and Imelda Bates
, Christopher M. Parry, and Imelda BatesTable
Characteristics of 16 recipients of syphilis-positive blood transfusions, Kumasi, Ghana*
| Recipient ID | RPR results for transfused blood | Duration of blood storage, d |
Blood sample test results
|
Outcome | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pretransfusion
|
Posttransfusion
|
|||||||||
| EIA | TPHA | RPR | EIA | TPHA | RPR | |||||
| 1 | R | 12 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Died | |
| 2 | NR | 2 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Died | |
| 3 | NR | 2 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Died | |
| 4 | NR | 1 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Died | |
| 5 | R | 4 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Lost to follow up | |
| 6 | NR | 1 | – | ND | ND | NA | NA | NA | Lost to follow up | |
| 7 | NR | 2 | + | + | NR | NA | NA | NA | Not followed up | |
| 8 | NR | 6 | + | + | R | NA | NA | NA | Not followed up | |
| 9 | NR | 3 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
| 10 | R | 1 | – | ND | ND | + | + | R | Seroconverted | |
| 11 | NR | 2 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
| 12 | R | 1 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
| 13 | R | 3 | – | ND | ND | + | – | NR | Well | |
| 14 | NR | 2 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
| 15 | R | 1 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
| 16 | R | 4 | – | ND | ND | – | ND | ND | Well | |
*ID, identification; RPR, rapid plasma reagin; EIA, enzyme immunoassay; TPHA, Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay; R, reactive; –, negative; ND, not done; NA, not available; NR, not reactive; +, positive. All results for transfused blood tested by EIA and TPHA were positive.
