Non-A, non-B hepatitis after open-heart surgery in Stockholm: declining incidence after introduction of restrictions for blood donations due to the human immunodeficiency virus.

In 1979 the incidence of non-A, non-B (NANB) posttransfusion hepatitis (PTH) in Stockholm was 19%. After the discovery of HIV the Swedish Board of Health put forward new regulations for blood donations and since 1985 has enforced testing for HIV on all blood units. To find out if these measures have had any impact on the incidence of NANB PTH, 316 patients transfused during open-heart surgery from December 1985 to November 1986 were followed prospectively. PTH due to the NANB agent(s) developed in 4.4% (14/316). A significantly higher mean number of blood units had been given to patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery in whom NANB PTH developed than in those who did not develop the infection. The mean number of blood units transfused during open-heart surgery in Stockholm had decreased from 16 in 1979 to 10 in 1985-1986. The number of NANB PTH cases/1,000 blood units transfused declined from 12 to 4 during the same period. Thus, both the reduced number of blood units given during open-heart surgery and the new restrictions for blood donors seem to have been effective in reducing the risk for NANB PTH in Stockholm during the 1980s.