Hepatitis C infection in children and adolescents on haemodialysis and after renal transplant.

Serum antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) were measured in children and adolescents on haemodialysis (HD, n = 20) and after renal transplant (RT, n = 33). Seropositivity was observed in 3 HD patients (15%) and in 7 RT patients (21.2%) with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (2nd generation) and a recombinant immunoblotting assay (2nd generation). HCV RNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction in the 10 patients with anti-HCV antibodies. Anti-HCV positivity was significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with the number of blood transfusions and the time on HD. Transaminase levels were not useful for screening. This study confirms that there is a high risk of HCV infection in children and adolescents on HD or after RT. Moreover, HCV infection is closely related to the number of blood transfusions as well as the time on HD.