FREQUENCY AND CHRONOLOGY OF OCCURRENCE OF ANTI-HCV IN NON-A NON-B POSTTRANSFUSIONAL HEPATITIS

Objective: Studying the frecuency and timing of the appearance of the virus C antibody. Patients: We studied serum samples of 57 patients wh om developed post-transfusional non-A non-B hepatitis. 34 males, and m ean age was 47.56 +/- 13.45 years. Initially anti-HVC was detected by ELISA, and the test was repeated on the last negative sample and the f irst two positive ones of each patient. RIBA-I and 2nd generation ELIS A were performed on these same samples. HCV polymerase chain reaction was performed in 5 seronegative patients by the other techniques. Resu lts: Fifty patients (87,5%) seroconverted to anti-HCV; 26 (52%) within 30 days after the onset of the disease (11 during incubation period); and, 24 (48%) seroconverted after the first month of the disease. Ant i-HCV negative patients had lower transaminase levels. Twenty six (52% ) of the 50 patients showing seroconversion developed a chronic hepati tis, while this ocurred in two (28.5%) of the seven seronegative patie nts (this diferrence was not statistically significant). Determination of HCV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction, performed (eight years after the onset of the disease) in 4 of the five seronegative patients by E LISA and RIBA techniques, was negative. Nowadays one of them is anti-H CV and HCV-PCR positive and sustain normal transaminases values. Concl usions: 87.5% of post-transfusional non-A non-B hepatitis seroconverte d during the follow-up. 26 (52%) showed this within 30 days after the onset of their disease; of this group II became seropositive before th eir ALT values rose. Nowadays In all patients (except one) Initially s eronegative, in which polymerase chain reaction was performed, negativ e serology results persist. There were no clinical and evolution diffe rences between the groups.