[Frequency of hepatitis after extra-corporeal circulation].
In cardio-vascular surgery the risk that the hepatitis-B (H.B.) virus be transmitted was measured in 3 groups of patients (Professor Ch. Dubost), before and since systematic screening for HBS antigen in donors' blood. The same questionnaire was sent to each patient in each group 6 months after extra-corporeal-circulation (ECC), in order to determine the efficiency of HB virus screening tests. The present study gives the following results: --in the first group (no screening for HBS antigen in donors' blood), the frequency of icteric hepatitis was 6.7% (26 cases of jaundice, probably due to hepatitis viruses, out of 386 ECC); --in the second group (screening for HBS antigen in donors' blood by immuno-diffusion (often made after transfusion of fresh blood) the frequency of icteric hepatitis after transfusion of HBS antigen positive blood); --in the third groups, icteric hepatitis was less frequent (4.6%) since systematic screening for HBS antigen by counter-electrophoresis and complement fixation was performed (29 cas out of 629 ECC). Additionally, viral hepatitis appeared more frequently in men than in women, and among older patients than younger ones. Recovery was generally complete in 2 months; however, the evolution of the disease was severe in 3 cases and fatal in one case. In sum, after ECC, hepatitis still remains a frequent side-effect, compelling blood centers to use th most sensitive screening tests now available for HBS screening: radio-immuno-assay and reverse passive haemagglutination tests. As a consequence of the present study, these 2 techniques are being applied on a daily basis in our laboratory for HBS antigen screening tests are ineffective in preventing the transmission of other strains of viral hepatitis by blood transfusion.