Abnormal electrocardiographic findings in apheresis donors

Electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring was performed on 291 donors during apheresis. Twenty-one donors (7.2%) had clinical symptoms such as discomfort, nausea, chill, numbness, and paresthesia, and 13 of this group exhibited ECG abnormalities, such as tachycardia, bradycardia, and other abnormal wave patterns. The donors with tachycardia and slight bradycardia had no symptoms. Ten donors had moderate to severe bradycardia with pulse rates less than 50 beats per minute; four of them had severe bradycardia (less than 45 beats per minute), and three of the four exhibited severe hypotension, vomiting, fainting, or convulsion. Other abnormal ECG changes, such as supraventricular and ventricular premature contractions, right bundle branch block, ST segment elevation or ST segment depression, and tall, flattened, or inverted T waves were observed in 29 donors (10%). These changes were not associated with symptoms. Only three of these donors complained of discomfort or chest heaviness. The abnormal waves appeared more often in granulocytapheresis donors than in plateletapheresis donors.