Clinical Question
Are pathogen-reduced platelets as effective as standard platelets for the prevention of bleeding in people of any age requiring platelet transfusions?
Bottom Line
In people with cancer who have a low platelet count due to their disease or its treatment, pathogen-reduced platelet transfusions increase risk of platelet refractoriness and platelet transfusion requirement (high-quality evidence) but probably do not effect all-cause mortality, risk of clinically significant or severe bleeding, or risk of a serious adverse event (moderate-quality evidence). There was insufficient evidence for people with other diagnoses.