title: Differences between acute hepatitis A and B in Hong Kong,.
abstract: Of a consecutive series of 102 patients with acute hepatitis in Hong Kong, 53% had type B infection. Non-Caucasians (Nepalese and Chinese) were more prone to hepatitis B and Caucasians were more prone to hepatitis A. Hepatitis B, but not hepatitis A, appeared to affect Non-Caucasians more severely than it did Caucasians. Possible reasons for this are discussed. A history of previous contact with a case of hepatitis was more commonly given in type A than type B hepatitis. Tattooing may have been a factor in some cases of hepatitis B among Caucasians. Compared with hepatitis A, hepatitis B involved a shorter prodrome (pre-icteric phase) and was a more severe disease. Unexpected differences in the biochemical patterns between the two diseases are demonstrated. Distinctive time-patterns of serum enzyme and serum bilirubin levels for each type are described, and these enable criteria to be devised by which three-quarters of cases can be correctly diagnosed as A or B. Such diagnosis is unrelaible in the individual case, however, except for seven out of every 10 hepatitis A cases which are capable of correct diagnosis on biochemical data alone.
mesh_terms: D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005006:Ethnicity; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D001663:Bilirubin