title: Acute hepatitis A infection in children: a 20-year experience of a medical center in Southern Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Taiwan is currently nonendemic for hepatitis A infection, but sporadic cases are reported occasionally. The presenting symptoms of acute hepatitis A (AHA) infection in children are often nonspecific and may be easily misdiagnosed as general gastrointestinal illness.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted this study to identify the relevant presenting symptoms and laboratory findings of AHA in children. The medical records of all patients younger than 18 years old admitted to Kaohsiung Chang Gang Memorial Hospital from July 1986 to June 2004 under the diagnosis of AHA were reviewed. There were 29 pediatric patients admitted with the diagnosis of AHA, including 16 male patients and 13 female patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poor appetite, malaise, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever were the leading constitutional symptoms. Jaundice and tea-colored urine were the most relevant hepatobiliary presentations. Elevation of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, direct and indirect bilirubin was common, although other hematology and biochemistry examinations were within normal limits on most occasions. There was no mortality in our series. A slightly increasing prevalence of AHA was noted over the two decades of the study period, although it was not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results found that children with AHA tended to present with non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms and acute liver function deterioration. Elevation of hepatic aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase with cholestasis was common.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chieh
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Li-Tung
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Sheng-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mao-Meng
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Tiao
authors.forename: Jien-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology