Y. Fujii et al., HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION AND LIVER-DISEASE AFTER ALLOGENEIC BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION, Bone marrow transplantation, 13(5), 1994, pp. 523-526
We tested the sera of 29 patients treated with allogeneic bone marrow
transplantation (BMT) by first- and second-generation ELISAs for hepat
itis C virus (HCV) antibodies to study the effect of HCV infection on
post-transplant liver diseases. Before BMT the first-generation assay
detected anti-HCV in 3 of 29 patients (10%) and the second-generation
assay detected anti-HCV in 5 of 29 (17%). After BMT the first-generati
on assay detected anti-HCV in 11 of 20 patients (55%) and the second-g
eneration assay detected anti-HCV in 14 of 20 (70%). According to pre-
transplant anti-HCV status by the second-generation assay, liver failu
re occurred in none of the anti-HCV-positive group and three of the an
ti-HCV-negative group. Graft-versus-host disease was responsible for l
iver failure in these patients. According to the post-transplant anti-
HCV status by the second-generation assay, chronic hepatitis was found
in 14 of 14 (100%) anti-HCV-positive and 1 of 6 (17%) anti-HCV-negati
ve patients during post-transplant follow-up (p < 0.001). Post-transpl
ant seroconversion from anti-HCV-negative to anti-HCV-positive status
assay was detected by the second-generation assay in 9 of 20 (45%) pat
ients. A biochemical deterioration during seroconversion was observed
in 7 of 9 (79%) cases. HCV plays an important role in the etiology of
post-transplant liver disease.