Hepatitis B Virus Markers in Hematologic Patients: Relation to Transfusion Treatment and Hospitalization

Abstract

Screening tests for hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers were performed in 266 hematologic patients in order to evaluate the role of transfusion therapy in HBV infection and to identify other possible causes of the high rate of HBV markers positivity in oncohematologic units. As control groups we tested 99 nonhematologic polytransfused patients, 66 nonhematologic, nontransfused inpatients with various diseases and 72 subjects randomly selected from the general population. Higher HBV markers prevalence was found in hematologic patients, nonhematologic polytransfused patients and nonhematologic, nontransfused inpatients than in the general population. HBV markers prevalence correlated with the length of hospitalization in all inpatients studied. Our data suggest that hospital admission is a major factor in HBV transmission in hematologic patients and in other inpatients studied. Blood transfusions represent a risk factor only when utilized as chronic treatment.

Recombinant alpha-2a interferon treatment in a child with T-cell leukemia and chronic hepatitis B

“…In developing countries, children with hematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy are at great risk of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is endemic in such countries, and as the proportion of chronic HBV carriers in the population is high, previously negative children may become positive for HBs Ag during treatment of malignancy, as a result of numerous venous accesses and transfusions with blood products [1,17,19,34]. The immunological status, affected by cancer itself and by chemotherapeutic regimens for hematologic malignancies, favors HBV replication, and children who acquire HBV infection during anticancer treatment generally become chronic HBV carriers with prolonged active viral replication [11,22,30].…”