REGULATORY UPDATE: CDC Shares Resources for Health Care Professionals Following Sepsis Investigation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a communication to health care providers on Thursday encouraging them to be alert for sepsis in patients following platelet transfusion. The email follows a December 2022 important information update from the Food and Drug Administration related to a CDC/FDA investigation of bacterial contamination of platelets for transfusion with Acinetobacter species and certain other bacterial species in combination.

The email encouraged clinicians to be alert to the signs and symptoms of sepsis, even though platelets are tested for bacterial contamination or pathogen reduced. The communication also included actions that health care providers may take in instances of suspected sepsis or bacterial contamination.