Bacterial Sepsis in Germany and Switzerland

The risk of bacterial sepsis has been studied in various countries. A German study (Schmidt et al. Transf. Med. Hemother. 2011) describes the risk of developing bacterial sepsis after transfusion of a contaminated platelet concentrate to be as high as 1 in 25,000. For Switzerland the risk for a septic morbidity after platelet transfusion has been found to be about 1 in 8,000, and the risk of a lethal septic event has been found to be about 1 in 40,000 (Swissmedic Haemovigilance Annual report 2014).