title: Aplastic anemia and non-A, non-B hepatitis.
abstract: Severe aplastic anemia is a rare but important complication of hepatitis. The agent(s) responsible for the hepatitis in these cases have not been well defined. Sixteen patient with hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia were studied for evidence of recent infection with hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and Toxoplasma. Results were compared with data from 10 randomly selected patients with aplastic anemia unassociated with hepatitis. Of the 16 patients, recent acute hepatitis A infection could be excluded in at least 14 patients. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was present in only one patient. A diagnosis of recent hepatitis B infection could not be excluded with confidence in two others. Tests for cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and Toxoplasma gave negative results. No patient with aplasia unassociated with hepatitis had evidence of recent hepatitis A infection, and the frequency of hepatitis B antibodies in this group was indistinguishable from that in patients with hepatitis. These data indicate that most cases of hepatitis that preceded aplastic anemia were not caused by hepatitis A virus or hepatitis B virus; non-A, non-B agents were probably involved in at least 13 of the 16 cases studied.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000741:Anemia, Aplastic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000382:microbiology; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications*; D006507:Hepatovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification