Prevalence and patterns of hyperimmunoglobulinemia in acute viral hepatitis convalescents.

The 99th-percentile values of a large control group were used to determine the frequency and patterns of hyperimmunoglobulinemia (HIg) in 119 convalescents from viral hepatitis in whom Ig quantitation was performed on two occasions within 6 1/2 months after their acute episode. The mean levels of IgG, IgA and IgM, but not of IgD, were significantly higher in convalescents than in controls. There was no significant difference (p greater than 0.1) in the overall frequency of HIg (at least one Ig-class value greater than or equal to 99th percentile of controls) between the initial (30.2%; n = 119) and repeat (20.6%; n = 97) samples, though differences in the distribution of HIg patterns occurred between the two samples. At the time of repeat testing, 7 out of 77 subjects with normo-Ig, but 13 out of 20 with HIg had clinical and/or laboratory abnormalities (p less than or equal to 0.001).