Summary
Sera of 520 multitransfused haemophiliacs were examined for antibody to HIV; 447 patients
had haemophilia A and 73 had haemophilia B. In 382 patients with haemophilia A and
in 62 with haemophilia B solely Polish-made blood products were used for replacement
therapy. The remaining haemophiliacs had also received imported clotting factor concentrates
prior to the investigation. Only 8 patients (haemophilia A - 7, haemophilia B - 1)
developed anti-HIV and all of them had been exposed to commercial concentrates. The
analysis of T-cell subsets demonstrated an inverted T4/T8 ratio (less than 1.0) in
7 (30%) of the 23 haemophiliacs treated solely with domestic cryoprecipitate and in
3 (37%) of the 8 seropositive recipients of commercial concentrates. The most frequent
alteration in both subgroups was a reduced ratio with either normal absolute numbers
or an increase in T8 cells. Increased serum IgG levels were found in 82% of the users
of cryoprecipitate and in 75% of the seropositive patients. Serum beta-2-microglobulin
level was elevated in 69 and 62% of each subgroup, respectively. The observed immunological
abnormalities, at least in the cryoprecipitate treated subgroup, may be causally related
to factors other than HIV infection.
Keywords
Haemophilia - Replacement therapy - AIDS - HIV antibody - Immunological abnormalities
