transfusion allergic reaction????

[patti]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone understand what causes an allergic reaction to a transfusion? Mom had her first allergic reaction after her transfusion today and it was pretty ugly. This is somewhere around her 35th tranfusion. She was covered in hives and really miserable. Will this happen everytime she has a transfusion now? Anything you can shed light on for my understanding would be appreciated.

Thanks,

patti

[eve]

it probably won’t happen again if they premedicate her before the tx

my dad gets tylenol – benadryl – hydrocortisone before each tx so that he doesn’t have the reaction

i think the reaction has to do with antibodies in the blood – i don’t think it is a very uncommon reaction after so many txs

good luck
eve

[patti]

Hi Eve,

They did pre-medicate mom. She gets benadryl and tylenol before each transfusion. I thought that was supposed to prevent the reactions.

I thought when they filtered the blood it was supposed to remove the other person antibodies???? Maybe I don’t understand that completely.

Thanks for the input.

patti

[eve]

patti

strange that she had the reaction with the premedication – maybe she needs a higher dose or they could add the hydrocortisone to it

there is always a chance of getting a reaction – filtered, irradiated or what have you – that is why getting a tx can’t be taken lightly

hope things get better

eve

[patti]

Thanks, Eve. I’ll mention the hydrocortisone next time. They only give her 25mg. of benadryl so I’ll check into 50mg. for her. She is feeling better today and her hives are all but gone now.

Patti

[lucym]

Hi Patti,
When my Mom was in the hospital from an infection in Jan she started receiving Plt tx almost daily….these were her first tranfusions and she was being pre medicated. Finally after a while she stopped having reactions and has not had any since. I always wondered if it had anything to do with the infection (she was very weak from the infection)and maybe her body was just reacting differently because of it. Glad to hear her hives are going away and she is feeling better, good idea to up the benedryl.
Lucy

[eve]

also just for information (in case you didn’t already know) benedryl can sometimes cause what they call dancing feet – the feet just can’t stop moving – it is not dangerous, just annoying – the symptoms leave as the benedryl wears off

eve

[paml]

Patti,
If an individual is red cell transfusion dependent they are always at risk to developing red cell antibodies. Leukoreduced or filtered blood will not reduce the incident of getting red cell antibodies. Red cell antibodies are an allergic reaction to an antigen. Once a patient has developed an antibody, all transfusions are then screened for that specific antibody. For some patients, this is when finding matched red cell units can become difficult. Antibody screening has nothing to do with filtered blood.

If your MIL has developed an antibody she would have been exposed to the antigen in a previous tranfusion and reacted to it with this
re-exposure. The next time she is typed and crossed ask if she has developed antibodies.

Hope this info helps,
Pam L.

[patti]

Thanks Pam, I’ll ask. Who do I ask? Her doctor? She gets typed and crossed at a lab across from the transfusion clinic. Or would I have to contact the red cross where her blood is tested?

thanks for all the help.

patti

[paml]

Patti,
I would think that the clinic and/or the red cross would have the information you’re seeking.

Pam L.

[covergirl]

Patti,
I am red blood cell tx dependent and what Paml has described is exactly what my hemo has explained to me. I pray for no antibody at every transfusion.

In my 12months plus of having txs, I have had one hives reaction like you mom and one shortness of breath reaction. Both were on the second unit. For the hives reaction, the stopped the tx, gave me more Benadryl and started tx about 3 hours later very slowly-I was an inpatient at the hospital so it took all night for that one unit. The second reaction I was beginning to have shortness of breath so the tx was stopped per my hemo’s instructions. that was three months ago.

I will have my third tx with no reaction since the breathing incident on Friday. I say all this to let you and your mom know the next tx my be reaction free.
–cheryl

[frank]

Patti,

i do have reaction, too. basically several times, and pretty wired. i also have reaction with multiple antibiotic-drug. so my doctor always gave me second benadryl before the sencond bag transfusion, it helps but it also made me sleepy after it.

FRank

[patti]

Cheryl,

Thanks for the additional info. I did not know shortness of breath was a reaction. I will tell mom to watch out for this. She’s the kind of person that wouldn’t say anything if she did have shortness of breath and didn’t know ahead of time it could be a reaction. I’ll also ask about additional benadryl between units.

Thanks again, folks. Much appreciated.

patti

[Author]

Posts