A serologic study of cytomegalovirus infections associated with blood transfusions.

Abstract The development of complement-fixing antibody to cytomegalovirus was determined in 152 prospectively studied patients. Seven per cent of 59 patients who received only a single unit of blood, 21 per cent of 72 patients with multiple transfusions, and 52 per cent of 21 immunosuppressed transplant recipients showed seroconversion an average of eight weeks after transfusion. The immunosuppressed transplant patients were found to have a significantly enhanced immune response. The risk of seroconversion correlated with the volume of blood transfused, but not with the use of fresh blood, or with the presence of pre-existing complement-fixing antibody. Post-transfusion hepatitis, mostly subclinical, occurred in 23 patients, of whom SH antigen developed in four and cytomegalovirus seroconversion in eight. Twenty-two patients with seroconversion, however, did not give any evidence of hepatitis. Our findings support, but do not unequivocally prove, the hypothesis that cytomegalovirus infections may be trans...