[Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus in hemophiliacs in Switzerland].

The sera of patients with hemophilia and von Willebrand factor deficiency, collected during clinical trials with virus-inactivated coagulation factor preparations, were retrospectively screened for the presence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Using the anti-HCV c100-3 assay, 10 out of 35 study patients had no HCV antibodies when entering the studies. The samples originally negative for anti-HCV were retested with a second-generation assay: all negative samples except two were positive on retesting.

[The fate of critically injured patients].

The prognosis of patients with multiple injuries is very favourable once the critically injured have survived the acute life threatening period. Five to six years after the accident 82% of the surviving patients with injuries of three or more body areas who needed intensive care are fully capable of work and are not receiving any financial compensation. In severe head injuries or in paraplegia, lethality during hospitalization is higher and late prognosis worse: nevertheless, five to six years after the accident 55% of these patients are working full time and do not receive any compensation.