ANTIBODIES TO HEPATITIS-C VIRUS IN HUMAN-IMMUNOGLOBULINS - CLINICAL MEANING AND DIAGNOSTIC DIFFICULTIES IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANT

Anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 11 children undergoing BMT. All o f them had received intravenous immunoglobulins (Ig) at a dose of 500 mg/kg every 2 weeks for the first 100 days post-BMT. Antibody titers a ppeared after the first dose and became undetectable between 1 and 6 m onths after the last dose of Ig. Detection of anti HCV antibodies in t hese multitransfused patients raised doubts about their clinical signi ficance. The clearance of antibody titers in the ensuing months, negat ivity of HCV RNA in the serum of the patients and the presence of anti -HCV in some batches of the commercial preparations administered suppo rted the diagnosis of a passive transfer of antibodies and that true H CV infection could be ruled out. Routine screening of donors with the most sensitive tests and exclusion of anti-HCV positive sera from plas ma pools should be mandatory. The presence of anti-HCV in these produc ts has important clinical implications, leading to more expensive and time-consuming diagnostic procedures.