Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Hepatitis A is generally an acute, self-limiting liver infection transmitted through the faecal-oral route by a picornavirus. The present study was conducted to assess hepatitis A infection in children. Materials & Methods: 52 children age ranged 4-16 years of both genders of hepatitis A were subjected to laboratory findings such as hemogram, AST, ALT, bilirubin etc. Results: Age group 4-6 years had 8, 7-9 yeas had 14, 10-12 years had 20 and 13-16 years had 10 cases. Common symptoms were nausea in 25, icterus in 46, vomiting in 32, loss of appetite in 48, diarrhoea in 13, dark urine in 50 and epistaxis in 6 cases. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). The mean Na level was 135.2 mEq/L, K level was 3.81mEq/L, BUN was 25.4 mg/dl, AST was 1012.6 U/L, ALT was 1780.4 U/L, ALP was 836.2 U/L and total bilirubin level was 5.3 mg/dl. Conclusion: Laboratories findings such as ALT and AST are helpful to diagnose the cases of hepatitis in children. Key words: Hepatitis, ALT, AST.