title: Quality monitoring of microbial contamination of cryopreserved parathyroid tissue.
abstract: Cryopreservation of parathyroid tissue (PT) provides patients undergoing parathyroidectomy with an option for delayed autologous heterotopic parathyroid transplantation. A standard protocol for quality monitoring of PT has not been established. This article describes a method for detecting the presence of bacterial contamination in PT tissue intended for autologous transplantation. PT was received in the tissue bank, processed under aseptic conditions, and placed into cryopreservation medium. Sterility testing was performed at 2 time points prior to cryopreservation. From January 2005 to October 2008, 47 PT samples were cryopreserved. The following bacteria were isolated from 11 PT specimens: Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus capitis subspecies ureolyticus, Staphylococcus lugdunensis, Bacillus pumilus, and corynebacteria (diphtheroids). 23% of PTs were contaminated at the time of collection, predominantly with indigenous bacteria. Quality monitoring using this protocol is a useful tool to identify tissues contaminated with bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 West 168th Street, Harkness 4-414, New York, NY 10032, USA. bs2277@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Brie A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Stotler
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reich-Slotky
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Inabnet
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Fann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Della-Latta
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jhang
mesh_terms: D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001407:Bacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D006801:Humans; D010280:Parathyroid Glands / Q000382:microbiology*; D011786:Quality Control; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014015:Tissue Banks / Q000592:standards; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous