Risk factors associated with the occurrence of adverse events in plateletpheresis donation

OBJECTIVE: To recognize the profile of platelet donors and the profile of the plateletpheresis session as well as to investigate the main adverse events of platelet donation using plateletpheresis and associated risk factors. METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional and analytical study was performed with a quantitative approach by analyzing 316 donation files from February 2010 to December 2011. The IBM SPSS Statistics program was used for data processing and analysis. The chi-square test was used to verify whether there was an association between factors related to the procedure and the donor, and the adverse events that occurred. RESULTS: The mean age of platelet donors was 40 years old (standard deviation = 8.9), with the prevalent age group being between 40 and 49 years old; the prevalent blood type was O positive (53.8%), the mean duration of the procedure was 73 min and the mean amount of anticoagulant used was 360 mL. The association between procedure duration and the volume of anticoagulant was inverse and statistically significant; the longer the procedure and the greater the volume of anticoagulant used, the less adverse reactions occurred. CONCLUSION: The low incidence of adverse events indicates that the procedure is well tolerated by donors. Obtaining data regarding the incidence of adverse events is a way of promoting a dynamic review of medical and nursing teams to improve the safety and comfort of the donor.