Lymphocyte Stimulation Induced by Halothane in Patients with Hepatitis Following Exposure to Halothane

Stimulation of lymphocytes, as measured by incorporation of 3H-thymidine into the deoxyribonucleic acid of lymphocytes, was observed in the presence of halothane in 10 of 15 patients with halothane hepatitis, but not in healthy controls, patients with hepatic disease or patients who were exposed to halothane but did not have liver damage. Lymphocytes of a patient with hepatic damage attributable to methoxyflurane were stimulated by methoxyflurane. Preliminary data indicate that sensitization is temporary. The plasma of the patients may contain a factor inhibiting lymphocyte stimulation. Australia antigen was not detected in the serums of the patients, but antimitochondrial antibodies seemed to correlate with lymphocyte stimulation. Stimulation of lymphocytes in the presence of halothane is helpful in the differential diagnosis of viral and halothane hepatitis, and indicates that in some patients, the anesthetic may be a sensitizing agent with a pathogenetic role in the hepatic damage.