Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Patients Infected with Viral hepatitis A which Out-break at Bung Kan Hospital

Abstract

Background and Objective: Acute hepatitis A is a worldwide public health problem especially in developing countries. During rainy season 2012, a large, community-wide outbreak of hepatitis A occurred at Bung Kan province. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and laboratory findings of adults with acute viral hepatitis A.

Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study evaluating 642 patients with acute viral hepatitis A treated in Bung Kan hospital between May-September 2012.

Results: In a total of 642 patients, 258 (40%) patients were admitted to the hospital, while the rest were treated as outpatients.The mean age was 23 + 10.3 years and most of the cases were 26-35 years old. The most frequent symptoms were fever, jaundice, fatigue, nausea vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and acholic stools respectively
Conclusion: Acute viral hepatitis A occurs most frequently in young adults and acute fever, jaundice, and fatigue were the common presentations. All patients  recover fully from hepatitis A infection and  no mortality in this outbreaks.