Husain Entesar, Al-Tawfiq Jaffar A, Husain Khalid
Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kuwait.
Med Princ Pract. 2006;15(4):266-9. doi: 10.1159/000092988.
To describe the epidemiology, clinical features and outcome of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection in children in Kuwait.
The medical records of 350 patients (age 0-16 years) admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kuwait, between January 2000 and December 2002, with hepatitis A infection were reviewed.
The mean age was 8.6 +/- 3.8 years and 47% of patients were between 7 and 12 years old. Kuwaiti children comprised 44% of admitted patients. The largest proportion of children with hepatitis A (34%) were from the northern part of the country. HAV infection was prevalent throughout the year with a peak during the months of August to October. Of the Kuwaiti children, 31% reported a history of contact with jaundiced patients, while 52% of the non-Kuwaiti children had a history of recent travel prior to their illness. Patients had symptoms for a mean of 6 +/- 3.6 days prior to presentation. The mean length of hospitalization was 5.8 +/- 2.9 days. The rate of complications of HAV infection was 6% and only one child required admission to the intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. None of the patients had permanent sequelae.
HAV infection is a significant cause of morbidity for children in Kuwait. The disease is mostly prevalent in preschool and school age children. Despite the excellent outcome of all patients, a considerable number of patients tend to have a complicated course and prolonged hospitalization. In view of these data, hepatitis A vaccine should be considered as a part of routine childhood immunization in Kuwait.
描述科威特儿童甲型肝炎病毒（HAV）感染的流行病学、临床特征及转归。
回顾了2000年1月至2002年12月间科威特传染病医院收治的350例年龄在0至16岁的甲型肝炎感染患者的病历。
平均年龄为8.6±3.8岁，47%的患者年龄在7至12岁之间。科威特儿童占入院患者的44%。甲型肝炎患儿中最大比例（34%）来自该国北部。HAV感染全年均有发生，8月至10月达到高峰。在科威特儿童中，31%报告有与黄疸患者接触史，而非科威特儿童中有52%在发病前有近期旅行史。患者在就诊前平均有6±3.6天的症状。平均住院时间为5.8±2.9天。HAV感染的并发症发生率为6%，仅有1名儿童因暴发性肝炎需入住重症监护病房。所有患者均无永久性后遗症。
HAV感染是科威特儿童发病的一个重要原因。该疾病在学龄前和学龄儿童中最为普遍。尽管所有患者预后良好，但仍有相当数量的患者病程复杂且住院时间延长。鉴于这些数据，甲型肝炎疫苗应被视为科威特儿童常规免疫接种的一部分。
