Non-A, non-B hepatitis after open-heart surgery in Sweden.
In recent years evidence has emerged that most post-transfusion hepatitis is caused by one or more previously unknown agents named non-A, non-B. A prospective investigation was made of 74 patients who underwent open-heart surgery. Only volunteer blood was used for transfusions. Transfusion-associated hepatitis appeared in 15 (20%) of the patients 4-12 weeks after the operation. In no case was the hepatitis found to be caused by hepatitis B, A or Epstein-Barr virus. One patient had a cytomegalovirus infection; the other 14 cases (19%) were classified by definition as non-A, non-B hepatitis. Although most of the patients were asymptomatic and all were anicteric, the course of the hepatitis was protracted in many cases. Thus, 6/12 observed patients still had pathologic transferase values more than a year after the onset of hepatitis. Liver biopsy was performed in 3 cases and showed histologic signs of chronic active hepatitis in all of them.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase