ACUTE VIRAL HEPATITIS IN CORONARY CARE UNIT (CCU) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SMALL OUTBREAK OF NON-A, NON-B HEPATITIS

Abstract

The small outbreak of non-A, non-B hepatitis occurred in the coronary care unit of Nippon Medical School.
Of 161 patients with acute myocardial infarction hospitalized in the CCU during a period of 2 years, acute viral hepatitis developed in 8 patients. Seven of the 8 cases were thought to be the clustering and the remaining case sporadic. Epidemiologic investigation implicated catheter procedure for measuring cardiac output as the source of exposure.
On the basis of serologic testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis A, clinical course and detection of antibodies against cytomegalo virus or herpes simplex virus, the diagnosis of non-A, non-B hepatitis was established in all cases.
In one of the above 7 clustering cases, multiple attacks of non-A, non-B and type B hepatitis were observed. This outbreak illustrates the risk of hepatitis in CCU where many kinds of surgical procedure are performed.