Ayako Ishijima

Correlation between Anti‐HBc Titers and HBV DNA in Blood Units without Detectable HBsAg

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was tested for in 294 blood units which had antibody against hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc) as the isolated serological marker of HBV infection. After amplification by polymerase chain reaction, HBV DNA was detected in 12 (6.9%) of 175 units that were positive for anti‐HBc with hemagglutination inhibition titers ≧26, significantly more often than in none of 119 units with titers ≦25 (p<0.01). These results indicate that the exclusion of blood units with isolated high‐titer anti‐HBc would be effective for further decreasing the risk of post‐transfusion hepatitis B.

Hemolytic disease of the newborn due to anti-Dib : a case study and review of the literature

BACKGROUND:  The severity of hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) due to Diegob (Dib) mismatch ranges from no symptoms to severe jaundice that requires exchange transfusion (ET). The clinical significance of anti‐Dib is incompletely recognized.

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia involving HPA-5b (Bra): A rare Japanese Case

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) is caused by platelet antigen incompatibility between the mother and fetus. The frequency of NAIT varies among ethnic groups. In Caucasians, HPA‐5b (Bra) is the antigen that is second most frequently implicated. In Japan, NAIT due to anti‐HPA‐5b antibody is quite rare. The present case is the second case of Bra‐NAIT in Japanese and the first case serologically confirmed by monoclonal antibody‐specific immobilization of platelet antigens.

Low incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis by screening for anti-hepatitis C virus antibody.

To see whether the introduction of screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) would be worthwhile, the incidence of post-transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis (PT-NANBH) was assessed among patients receiving blood during operation at Fukushima Medical College Hospital.230 patients before screening and 108 after screening, who received blood from an average of 6.7 donors and 5.3 donors, respectively, were followed up and evaluated. Remarkable reduction of the incidence of confirmed cases of PT-NANBH was observed. 20 (8.7%) of the patients before screening showed biochemical evidence of PT-NANBH, whereas only 3 (2.8%) cases after screening did. In contrast to confirmed cases, there was a little reduction rate of suspected PT-NANBH by the screening, 16.1% before and 12.0% after screening, respectively.These results suggest that mass-screening for anti-HCV is effective but still not perfect in reducing the PT-NANBH.Moreover, irradiating the blood positive for anti-HCV had no protective effect in the incidence of PT-NANBH in recipients.