[Clinico-epidemiologic study on 1258 cases of viral hepatitis admitted to Piedmont hospitals 1977-1979].

A clinical and epidemiological assessment of 1258 hospital patients in Piedmont in 1977-1979 showed that, at present, the frequency of hepatitis A and B can be regarded as virtually the same, that males are more frequently affected, that AVH A is more frequent in early life, whereas AVH B is significantly more common later, that urban areas are more frequently stricken than rural areas, that AVH A is more common in persons living in groups, whereas AVH B is more frequent among pensioners and the unemployed (the latter being primarily drug-addicts). Patients with AVH A, and hence a minor hepatitic involvement, had shorter hospital stays, while the immune response in both types of hepatitis is characterized by a more frequent increase in gamma-globulins, coupled with arise in IgM levels.