Abnormal alanine aminotransferase level in blood units from donors in Montreal does not indicate high risk of transmitting hepatitis.
We undertook a prospective study to estimate the risk in Montreal of developing hepatitis following transfusion of blood with an elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. Two thousand consecutive donor units were screened for ALT activity; 133 (6.7%) had values greater than or equal to 51 IU 1(-1). Twenty-four patients received one or more units with elevated ALT levels and completed follow-up; two (8%) developed hepatitis (one of these was type B hepatitis). One of the 10 'control' patients who received only units with normal ALT levels also developed hepatitis. In this study, the risk of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis was the same in recipients of blood units with abnormal ALT levels as in those who received only blood with normal ALT, and very similar to the risk reported in other studies for recipients of volunteer donor blood with normal ALT. These findings require confirmation by a larger study, but suggest that the hepatitis risk associated with transfusion of high-ALT blood may be lower in Montreal than has been reported in several centers in the U.S.
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D011792:Quebec; D012306:Risk; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D000410:Alanine Transaminase