[Hepatitis C virus in a group of hematological and oncohematological patients].
BACKGROUND
Little information is available in Chile about hepatitis C virus (HCV) in hematological and oncohematological patients.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus markers in a group of hematological and oncohematological pediatric patients seen at Valdivia Regional Hospital.


METHODS
Antibodies against virus C, determined by ELISA and viral RNA, determined using RT-polymerase chain reaction, were measured in 54 blood samples from children with hematological diseases (34 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, 4 with Hodgkin Diseases, 4 with Haemolytic Anemia, 5 with Sarcomas, 2 with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, 2 with Thrombocytopenic Purpura, 1 with an Ependimoma, one with a Wilms Tumor and 1 with a Von Willebrand Disease).


RESULTS
All samples were negative for antibodies against hepatitis C virus. Viral RNA was found in four children, all with a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and who received chemotherapy and multiple transfusions.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of Viral RNA for hepatitis C virus in oncohematological patients in our study is high and associated with the use of chemotherapy and multiple transfusions.
Institutos de Hematología y Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia. ivega@uach.cl
I
I
Vega
A
A
León
P
P
Zolezzi
H
H
Ibarra
C
C
Faúndez
J
J
Montecinos
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000821:virology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000276:immunology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies