There are 350 million individuals infected by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The development and the severity of the infection depend on several factors, such as: age at the first infection and the immunity response of the subject. The risk of chronic infection is less than 5% for adults and greater than 90% for newborn babies. An individual who is chronically infected by HBV during childhood has a 25% risk of dying due to cirrhosis or liver cancer. This data led the authors to design a study with the objective of estimating the post-transfusion incidence of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in children with neoplasias who were transfused during treatment or during the follow up. A retrospective study was performed that revisited 333 medical records from the oncology service in the HIVS from January 1993 to January 2005. The inclusion criteria were: age less than 16 years old, diagnosis of cancer and the results of the HBsAg test. Thus, 199 patients were excluded because they did not fulfill the criteria. The remaining 134 patients’ records were analyzed in regards to blood transfusion. Of the 134 children who satisfied the criteria, 116 were transfused and 18 were not. Results of the HBsAg test were positive in 32.8% of the transfused patients and in only 5.6% of non-transfused individuals. The Fisher Exact Test demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p = 0.023). The ODDS ratio of a transfused patient presenting with reactive results for HBsAG was calculated at 8.28 times greater than non-transfused individuals.
Hepatitis B; transfusion; post-transfusion hepatitis; HBsAg; childhood cancer