Title:
Aetiological Spectrum of Acute Hepatitis in Children: Experience of a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh.

Authors:
Md. Wahiduzzaman Mazumder, Maimuna Sayeed, Mahfuza Chowdhury, ASM Bazlul Karim, Bangladesh

Abstract:

Introduction: Acute hepatitis may be caused by a variety of insult which may also progress to acute liver failure a condition associated with high morbidity & mortality without liver transplant. It is important to establish the underlying aetiology of acute hepatitis, as the outcome varies according to aetiology & risk of progression to acute liver failure also differs accordingly.

Objectives: To identify the aetiology of Acute Hepatitis in children under 16 years of age admitted at the department of Paediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, a tertiary care hospital of Bangladesh.

Methodology: It was a retrospective review of medical records from November 2014 through October 2016. 

Results: During this period a total of 126 children were diagnosed as acute hepatitis. Aetiology was established in 87.3% cases of acute hepatitis. Among them, 52.4% was due to Hepatitis A Virus infection, 12.7% due to Wilson’s disease and only 6.4% were due to hepatitis B virus infection. Hepatitis A virus infection was found to be the most common cause (52.4%) of acute hepatitis in children in this study.

Conclusions: Hepatitis-A virus infection was found to be the most common causes of acute hepatitis in Bangladeshi children which is preventable. Intervention like universal immunization against hepatitis A virus may effectively reduce morbidity from acute hepatitis and mortality associated with acute liver failure in Bangladeshi children.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.51505/ijmshr.2022.6106