ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of hepatitis C in 200 patients with paediatric malignancies, surviving in remission more than 5 years from diagnosis, who had received blood product transfusions before 1990 when routine screening of blood products for hepatitis C began. METHOD: The second and third generation Abbott Diagnostics ELISA was used to assess hepatitis C seropositivity. Seropositive patients and those with abnormal liver transaminases were assessed by hepatitis C virus RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: A low incidence (4%) of seropositivity for hepatitis C was found in survivors of paediatric malignancy who were transfused prior to routine screening of blood products in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: All patients identified have evidence of hepatitis and may be at high risk of developing cirrhosis.
Subject(s)
Blood Component Transfusion/adverse effects , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Hepatitis C/etiology , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Alanine Transaminase/blood , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood , Child , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hepatitis C/blood , Hepatitis C/therapy , Humans , Interferon Type I/therapeutic use , Male , Prevalence , Recombinant Proteins , SurvivorsSubject(s)
Acidosis/physiopathology , Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous/surgery , Ileostomy , Infant, Newborn/physiology , Postoperative Complications/physiopathology , Water-Electrolyte Balance , Acidosis/etiology , Acidosis/surgery , Bicarbonates/blood , Bicarbonates/therapeutic use , Bicarbonates/urine , Humans , Infant, Newborn/blood , Infant, Newborn/urine , Male , Postoperative Complications/surgery , Sodium/blood , Sodium/urineABSTRACT
A 12-year-old boy with Wilson's disease developed exertional dyspnea, cyanosis, and finger clubbing 10 months after diagnosis. The hypoxemia was caused by arteriovenous shunting, demonstrated by radionuclide scanning and pulmonary arteriography. Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed after the development of severe hypoxemia. There was no apparent reversal of the intrapulmonary arteriovenous shunting and he died 10 days posttransplantation of multiple organ failure secondary to hypoxemia. Monitoring arterial oxygen saturation in children with cirrhosis is warranted since the presence of significant arteriovenous shunting may influence prognosis and decisions regarding liver transplantation.
