Full Text:
영남의대학술지 Vol.24 No.2 p170-178, Dec. 2007
Original Article
성인 급성 A형 간염 환자들의 임상 양상
Clinical Characteristics of Adult Patients with Acute Hepatitis A
은종렬, 이헌주, 김태년?장병익?문희정
영남대학교 의과대학 내과학교실
책임저자：이헌주, 대구시 남구 대명5동 317-1번지, 영남대학교 의과대학 내과학교실
Tel: (053) 620-3830, Fax: (053) 654-8386
E-mail: hjlee@med.yu.ac.kr
December 30, 2007
Abstract
Background：The incidence of acute hepatitis A in adults has recently been increasing. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of acute hepatitis A in Daegu province over the past 10 years. Materials and Methods：We reviewed the medical records of 55 patients (male/female: 34/21), who were diagnosed with acute hepatitis A by confirmation of the IgM anti-HAV between January 1998 and June 2007. Results：The mean age was 29.7±10.3 years (range; 17-65 years). The incidence was most common between March and June (56.1%), in the third and fourth decades of life (78.2%) and 90.9% (50/55) of the patients were diagnosed from 2003 to present. The common symptoms included anorexia, nausea or vomiting (69.1%), fever and chills (49.1%), myalgia (47.3%), weight loss (47.3%), fatigue (40.0%), abdominal pain (36.4%), diarrhea (9.1%) and pruritus (5.5%). The mean duration of hospital stay was 8.6±3.4 days (range; 3-20 days). The route of transmission was identified in only 11 patients (20.0%); 7 patients (12.7%) traveled (abroad or domestic), 2 patients (3.6%) ingested raw food and 2 patients (3.6%) had friends with acute hepatitis A. Fifty four patients recovered without complication; one patient developed fulminant hepatitis and recovered after a liver transplantation. Conclusion：The incidence of acute hepatitis A in adults is increasing. Because of the cost of treatment and potential for serious disease, persons, under 40 are recommened to have hepatitis A vaccination and confirmation of IgG anti-HAV.
Key Words: Hepatitis A virus, Acute hepatitis A, Clinical features, Vaccination
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