Evaluating of Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Patients with Acute Viral Hepatitis A

Acute viral hepatitis A is usually, which asymptomatic and anicteric, has often been seen in children. In this study, the files of 42 patients with acute viral hepatitis A infection who were admitted at the Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Dicle University, between January 2006 and February 2007, were evaluated retrospectively. Male/female rate was determined to be 1.4, and the mean ages of patients were 6.9±3.5 years (18months to14 years). The most common symptoms on admission were jaundice (73.8%), vomiting (52.3%), fever (42.8%) and abdominal pain (38%). The seasons on admission were winter (47.6%), autumn (38.1%) and spring (14.3%). In laboratory findings mean of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 1875U/L (82-6340U/L), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 1697U/L (144-4876 U/L), total bilirubin 12.1mg/dl (0.9-47mg/dl), and direct bilirubin 8.9mg/dl (0.4-27.3 mg/dl) were determined. The most frequent complications were anemia, hepatic encephalopathy, thrombocytopenia, and the mortality rate was determined as 2.4%.