[Prospective study in posttransfusion hepatitis in patients with open heart surgery (author's transl)]

In a prospective study in posttransfusion hepatitis 54 patients with open heart surgery received 220 blood units which were negative for HBS Ag by radioimmunoassay. 15 of these units contained anti-HBS and were given to 13 antibody negative patients. In a half year follow up period neither clinical nor biochemical (SGOT, SGPT, gamma-GT) signs of hepatitis could be found in these patients and neither HBS Ag nor anti-HBS developed. At the same time a screening for HBS Ag of hospital staff in contact with these patients revealed no carrier of the antigen. Therefore, the lack of any hepatitis in our relatively small study group may be attributable to two facts: the relative safety of blood screened by highly sensitive methods for the detection of HBS Ag and the noninfectious environment of these patients in the hospital during the observation period.