Abstract
Background and study aim: Hepatitis A is an acute, usually mild and self-limiting disease affecting the liver. We aim to assess the effect of oral N-acetyl cysteine compared with placebo on length of hospital stay in adult patients who were admitted to the hospital with acute hepatitis A which might cause earlier resolution of hepatitis. Subjects and Methods: 40 patients were diagnosed as acute hepatitis A and classified into two groups, the first one involved 20 patients who received oral N-acetyl cysteine and supportive treatment, and the second one involved also 20 patients but they received placebo and supportive treatment. We measured complete blood count (CBC), kidney profile (KP), liver function test (LFT), blood glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP) and coagulation profiles on the day of presentation, and every other day till the day of discharge from the hospital. Serological tests were done for HAV Immunoglobulin M (IgM), HEV IgM, HBsAg, HBcIgM, antibody to Hepatitis C virus. Results: The mean length of hospital stay in the NAC group was 13.2 days compared with 14.3 days in the placebo group. Length of hospital stay differed significantly between groups. The mean time of reliving symptoms at presentation was 3.6 days in the NAC group and 4.4 days in the placebo group. The mean time of reliving symptoms at presentation was significantly lower in NAC group than in placebo group. Conclusion: use of oral NAC as adjunctive therapy for treatment of acute hepatitis A was safe in these patients and was associated with a shorter length of patient stay in the hospital.
Highlights
Hepatitis A is an acute, self-limiting disease affecting the liver caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV) [1]
Forty patients were included in the study, they were classified into two groups, N-acetyl cysteine group and placebo group, each of them involved 20 male patients varying in age from 14 years to 29 years
At the time of admission, no significant differences were noted between the N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) group and the placebo group as regard to liver enzymes, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, INR, platelets, white blood cells, C-reactive protein, and serum creatinine (Table I)
Summary
Hepatitis A is an acute, self-limiting disease affecting the liver caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV) [1]. Severity of illness is strongly age dependent; adult who are infected with acute hepatitis A tend to experience a much more severe form of the disease, whereas young children typically have a milder form of the disease, usually lasting from 1–3 weeks [3]. Hepatitis A is an acute, usually mild and self-limiting disease affecting the liver. We aim to assess the effect of oral N-acetyl cysteine compared with placebo on length of hospital stay in adult patients who were admitted to the hospital with acute hepatitis A which might cause earlier resolution of hepatitis. Results: The mean length of hospital stay in the NAC group was 13.2 days compared with 14.3 days in the placebo group. Conclusion: use of oral NAC as adjunctive therapy for treatment of acute hepatitis A was safe in these patients and was associated with a shorter length of patient stay in the hospital
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