[Hepatitis after blood transfusion in inpatients. Post-transfusion hepatitis, or infection of other etiology?].
OBJECTIVE
Hepatitis after a transfusion of blood products is often uncritically called post-transfusion hepatitis (PTH). It was the aim of this study to ascertain in how many reported cases of suspected PTH a causal relationship between transfusion and the infection in the recipient can be proven.


METHODS
Full investigations (look-back method) were made of 23 cases of PTH reported in the 10-year period of 1987-1997 (11 cases of PTH B and 12 of PTH non-A-non-B or C). The recipients had been given a mean of 7.7 blood components (range 1-57). The clinical diagnosis had been made a mean of 5.2 (range 1-27) months after transfusion.


RESULTS
One case each of hepatitis B and C had been caused by transfusion of blood products. In 5 of 12 suspected cases of PTH non-A-non-B hepatitis C, PTH could not be definitively excluded (despite absent seroconversion for anti-hepatitis C virus [HCV]), because HCV-RNA findings were not available. In 16 of 23 investigated cases serological and molecular-biological tests firmly excluded PTH B or C.


CONCLUSIONS
The small number of confirmed cases of PTH indicates that hepatitis that has occurred post-transfusion is frequently due to a cause not related to the transfusion. The number of transfusion-associated cases will be further reduced with the introduction (standard since 1.4.1999) of VCH-RNA screening of donors. This will raise the importance of hepatitis cases not associated with transfusion.
Mahl
M A
MA
Zentralinstitut für Transfusionsmedizin und Blutspendedienst, Katharinenhospital Stuttgart. MarcMahl@aol.com
Sugg
U
U
D016913:Blood Component Transfusion / Q000009:adverse effects; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D065227:Transfusion Reaction