Are cytokines in platelet concentrates responsible for febrile transfusion reactions?

In recent years, several studies have identified the leukocyte content and the age of the blood components as dominant factors in febrile transfusion reactions (FTRs). At present, extensive efforts are being made to reduce adverse effects by implementation and/or introduction of new methods for leuko-depletion of blood components and by studying the mechanisms responsible for these phenomena. A recent approach has been the evaluation of cytokines in platelet concentrates and this issue has been addressed with some detail in this review. Comparative data currently available on levels of cytokines in the different platelet concentrates is provided along with the functional role of the detected cytokines in including adverse reactions.