Post-transfusional hepatitis caused by cytomegalovirus in a heart surgery patient: atypical clinical case
Boni, F.; Manari, A.; Vignoli, R.; Attolini, M.; Azzarone, G.F.; Guiducci, U.; Marchetti, A.
Giornale di Clinica Medica 69(2): 127-128
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0017-0275 PMID: 2838361 Document Number: 306000
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) post-trasfusional hepatitis (EPT) is characterized by a moderate rise of serum transaminases: clinically it shows little or no symptom, and recovering in acute phase with no chronic outcomes. Some experiments and few clinical reports described fulminating CMV hepatitis always related to primary immunodeficiency. The Authors describe a case of Cytomegalovirus EPT in a cardiosurgical patient in absence of immunodeficiency, who underwent a massive hepatic necrosis. The reason of this atypical CMV hepatitis is to be searched for in the patient's "particular receptivity", and chiefly in a probable double and contemporaneous infection by CMV and NANB-virus. In fact, there is a high incidence of "asymptomatic" patients affected by these two viruses in blood/donors. At the moment, the hypothesis cannot be undoubtedly confirmed because serum markers for NANB-virus are not available.