Elevated IgE levels in the serum of multitransfused patients. Possible role in transfusion reactions.

Elevation of serum IgE levels is highly significant in multitransfused patients as compared to a normal population. Except for subjects with cirrhosis, no significant differences are found among the various categories of patients. Such elevation, about two-fold on average, is observed in 85 per cent of patients who underwent cardiac surgery, within 8–15 days following the operation. The IgE abnormality (levels over 500 u/ml) affects up to 41 per cent of multi-transfused patients without antibodies directed against the formed elements of the blood, who developed intolerance reaction to transfusion.