Non-A non-B hepatitis after transfusion of factor VIII in infrequently treated patients.

Thirty patients who had not previously received treatment with factor VIII concentrate or who had been treated only infrequently with factor VIII concentrate were studied after a transfusion of factor VIII. Tests of liver function were performed frequently. Four patients had evidence of chronic liver disease before transfusion. In 17 of the remaining 26 patients serum transaminase activities became raised and 10 patients developed jaundice. All of the nine patients who had not previously received factor VIII transfusion developed non-A non-B hepatitis. Four out of 10 patients followed up for a year had persisting abnormalities of liver function. The pattern of illness suggests that more than one serotype of non-A non-B hepatitis virus may be transmitted by factor VIII concentrate prepared by the National Health Service from volunteer donors in the United Kingdom.