title: Prevalence of skin allograft discards as a result of serological and molecular microbiological screening in a regional skin bank in Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Postmortem skin is widely used in the treatment of patients with severe burns. Skin specimens must be screened for transmissible agents including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Treponema pallidum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and sixty-one cadaveric donors underwent serological and molecular microbiological (polymerase chain reaction, PCR) screening at Siena Skin Bank between 2000 and 2004.
  
  
  RESULTS
  74/461 donors (16.1%) were found ineligible under current regulations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results are interesting in a local context and underline the importance of screening involving both routine serological procedures and molecular microbiological investigation. The latter has not been uniformly introduced in many countries and very limited data is available to assess its cost-benefit ratio in the field of skin donor screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Immunological Sciences, University of Siena, Policlinico S. Maria alle Scotte, Viale Bracci, 53100 Siena, Italy. pianigianie@unisi.it
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pianigiani
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Risulo
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ierardi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sbano
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andreassi
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fimiani
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caudai
authors.forename: Pier Egisto
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Valensin
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zazzi
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009926:Organ Preservation / Q000379:methods; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014015:Tissue Banks; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014211:Treponemal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*