Case Study Two, continued
A DAT is ordered on the patient along with an antibody screen. The DAT is positive and the antibody screen is negative.
Elution studies are then performed. An elution is a technique where antibody is dissociated from sensitized red blood cells and harvested. One method that is commonly used is an acid elution. In this method, an acidic solution is added to a volume of red blood cells. The acid environment disrupts the bond between antibody and antigen on the red cell surface. The antibody can be collected in this acid solution and restored to a physiologic pH by the addition of a buffer. This eluate can then be tested against a panel of red blood cells to determine a specificity.
The eluate in this case is tested with normal red cells and with penicillin-sensitized red cells. In which of these tests would you expect the eluate to be reactive?
Please select the single best answer