Serum level of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in patients with acute viral hepatitis A or acute viral hepatitis B: lack of correlation with severity of the disease.

Serum soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) was found to be increased in patients with chronic hepatitis. The aim of the study was the evaluation of sICAM-1 dynamics in patients with acute hepatitis A or hepatitis B. Serum level of sICAM-1 was determined in 13 patients with acute hepatic A, 19 patients with acute hepatitis B, and 20 healthy controls. Measurements were done four times, at the beginning of jaundice, in the 14th day of jaundice, at release from the hospital, and when biochemical indices of the liver function became normal. An increase in sICAM-1 was shown in the patients. There was no difference between patients with hepatitis A and those with hepatitis B. The sICAM-1 decreased in the course of recovery but the values in the last measurements were still higher than in the controls. There was no correlation of sICAM-1 and duration of hospitalization. The obtained results do not suggest sICAM-1 as diagnostic or prognostic marker in patients with acute hepatitis A or B.