[Hepatitis B infections in cytostatically treated children]

Between Nov. 83 and Oct. 84 15 children under chemotherapy for malignant diseases, 2 relatives and 2 nurses developed hepatitis-B antigen seropositivity. Epidemiological studies gave evidence for non-parenteral spread of the infection. The course of the disease was usually asymptomatic or mild. Amongst the patients who developed hepatitis-B there was a considerable number of children who had presented with a recurrence of their malignant disease. Two characteristic cases of hepatitis B are presented showing the wide range of clinical manifestations of this disease in immunocompromised children with ALL.