Posttransfusion Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis after Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Study

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Abstract
In a prospective study of 50 recipients of HbsAg[hepatitis B surface antigen]-negative blood who had undergone cardiac surgery, 4 (8%) developed acute non-A, non-B hepatitis. The patients who developed hepatitis had received significantly more units of blood or blood products than the patients who had no hepatitis. The incubation period of the disease was 4-13 wk, 3 patients were asymptomatic with peak alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels of 320-497 U/l and 1 patient was jaundiced with a peak ALT of 3400 U/l. One of the patients had high ALT levels after 21 wk of observation, while 3 patients recovered after 7-10 wk. Non-A, non-B posttransfusion hepatitis in Israel is a medical problem similar to that in the USA. The clinical picture of the disease varies from a mild asymptomatic to a symptomatic and protracted course.