Abstract
Background: According to some provincial reports, prevalence of hepatitis A has had a decreasing trend during the past decade in Iran. We aimed to overview clinical manifestations and laboratory findings of Iranian pediatric patients diagnosed with hepatitis A infection. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 162 consecutive pediatric cases of hepatitis A infection. Data were collected by reviewing hospital records on admission to hospital. Results: The mean±SD age of participants was 9.90±4.08 years and 55.6% were boys. Regarding clinical manifestations, the most frequent symptom was jaundice. Fever was more prevalent in girls than in boys; whereas, abdominal tenderness was more prevalent in boys compared to girls. There was no difference in the prevalence of other clinical indices as well as in laboratory parameters between two sexes. Diarrhea was significantly more frequent in children younger than 2 years compared with other age subgroups. However, abdominal tenderness was more frequent in older patients compared to younger children. Regarding laboratory parameters, except for serum direct bilirubin that raised less in children younger than 2 years, the prevalence of other biochemical markers abnormality was comparable in different age groups. Conclusion: Hepatitis A infection is a common finding among Iranian children that equally occurs in boys and girls, while commonly appearing in children aged 7-18 years. The most frequent abnormal changes in laboratory parameters refer to change of liver enzymes, serum bilirubin, serum albumin and coagulated indices. [GMJ.2015;4(2):90-95]
Highlights
Recent development in serological testing and accurate molecular techniques have led to greater knowledge and understanding of the nature, methods of transmissions, mechanisms of vaccination, epidemiological characteristics and geographical distribution of viruses [1, 2]
Comparing clinical manifestations of hepatitis A between boys and girls showed higher prevalence of fever in girls than in boys (54.6% versus 45.4%, P=0.001), whereas abdominal tenderness was more prevalent in boys compared with girls
The main points of the present study are that the prevalence of hepatitis A infection hospitalized in our population is similar in boys and girls; it is interestingly less detected in younger children, so almost 78% of affected ones are in the range of 7-18 years, while only less than 0.2% of infected children are younger than 2 years
Summary
Recent development in serological testing and accurate molecular techniques have led to greater knowledge and understanding of the nature, methods of transmissions, mechanisms of vaccination, epidemiological characteristics and geographical distribution of viruses [1, 2]. Successful immunization against hepatitis A as an acute and self-limiting liver infection has led to controlling the incidence rate of this infection and its rare life-threatening complications such as fulminant hepatitis [6,7,8] This viral infection can appear in both children and adults, but with different clinical symptoms and final clinical consequences. We aimed to overview clinical manifestations, laboratory findings and disease course of Iranian pediatric patients diagnosed with hepatitis A infection. Except for serum direct bilirubin that raised less in children younger than 2 years, the prevalence of other biochemical markers abnormality was comparable in different age groups. The most frequent abnormal changes in laboratory parameters refer to change of liver enzymes, serum bilirubin, serum albumin and coagulated indices. [GMJ.2015;4(2):90-95]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
