The etiology of acute viral hepatitis for the last 3 years.
- Author:
Moon Hee SONG
1
;
Young Suk LIM
;
Tae June SONG
;
Jung Min CHOI
;
Jae Il KIM
;
Jae Bum JUN
;
Mi Young KIM
;
Dae Keun PYUN
;
Han Chu LEE
;
Young Hwa JUNG
;
Young Sang LEE
;
Dong Jin SUH
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. lymys@amc.seoul.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Virus;
Hepatitis;
Etiology
- MeSH:
Chungcheongnam-do;
Hepatitis A;
Hepatitis A Antibodies;
Hepatitis A virus;
Hepatitis B;
Hepatitis B virus;
Hepatitis C;
Hepatitis E;
Hepatitis*;
Humans;
Immunoglobulin M;
Interferon-alpha;
Jaundice;
Korea;
Liver Failure, Acute;
Medical Records;
Polymerase Chain Reaction;
Retrospective Studies;
Ribavirin
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine
2005;68(3):256-260
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: In Korea, the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis used to be the hepatitis B virus, but now the etiology of acute viral hepatitis seems to be changing. We investigated the etiology of newly developed acute viral hepatitis for the last 3 years. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients, who visited Asan Medical Center for jaundice during recent 3 years. Among them, one hundred eighty six patients were diagnosed as acute viral hepatitis by typical clinical feature and positive results in any one of the following tests: IgM anti-HAV, IgM anti-HBc, HCV PCR, and IgM anti-HEV. RESULTS: The proportion of acute viral hepatitis A, B, C, and E were 49.5% (n=92), 45.2% (n=84), 3.8% (n=7), and 1.6% (n=3), respectively. The patients' age of acute hepatitis A (29.1 +/- 1.75 years) was significantly younger than that of acute hepatitis B (38.2 +/- 3.07 years) (p<0.001). There were 10 cases of fulminant hepatic failure, all of which were caused by hepatitis B virus. Of seven patients diagnosed as acute hepatitis C, three patients were treated with interferon-alpha and ribavirin, and all achieved sustained virologic response. Three patients, who were diagnosed as acute hepatitis E, recovered spontaneously. CONCLUSION: Nowadays, the most common causes of acute viral hepatitis in Korea are in the order of the hepatitis A virus and the hepatitis B virus. The most prevalent age of acute hepatitis A is the 20th, while acute hepatitis B is most common in the 30th. Although the acute hepatitis C and E seems to be rare, they do occur sporadically in Korea.
