Chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis developed after transfusions, illicit self-injections or sporadically. Outcome during long-term follow-up--a comparison.

Ninety-two patients with biopsy-proven chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis after blood transfusions, illicit self-injections or sporadically were followed clinically for an average of nearly 5 years. In the posttransfusion hepatitis group, which comprised 37 patients with a mean age of 54 years (range 18-83 years), 59% developed chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and 46% also showed signs of early cirrhosis (eCi) or manifest cirrhosis (Ci). In the illicit self-injection group, comprising 33 patients with a mean age of 26 years (range 17-63 years), 39% manifested CAH and 18% eCi or Ci. In the sporadic group, which consisted of 22 patients with a mean age of 32 years (range 16-62 years), 41% showed CAH and 23% eCi. Thus, in all, 44/92 (48%) of the patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis developed CAH and 28/92 (30%) signs of early or manifest cirrhosis. Patients greater than or equal to 30 years of age displayed CAH and signs of cirrhosis more often than patients less than 30 years of age (p less than 0.01). Chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis is a slowly progressive disease with a high incidence of cirrhosis, especially in patients greater than or equal to 30 years of age and when caused by blood transfusion.