Clinical outcomes and predictive factors of spontaneous survival in patients with fulminant hepatitis A

doi:2008.14.4.474

Korean J Hepatol > Volume 14(4); 2008 > Article

The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2008;14(4): 474-482.
doi: https://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2008.14.4.474

Clinical outcomes and predictive factors of spontaneous survival in patients with fulminant hepatitis A

Jwa Min Kim , Yoon Seon Lee , Jae Ho Lee , Won Kim , Kyung Soo Lim

Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT

Backgrounds
/Aims: The occurrence of acute hepatitis A is increasing and its progression to fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is frequent. We investigated the frequency and clinical outcomes of fulminant hepatitis A and also analyzed the predictive factors of spontaneous survival. Methods: A total of 568 patients presented with acute hepatitis A from January 2003 to June 2008, of which the 35 (6.2%) patients with FHF were divided into two groups: spontaneous survival and transplant/death. These two groups were compared according to various clinical features including the MELD score and King`s College Hospital (KCH) criteria. Results: The rate of FHF development increased over time among patients with acute hepatitis A: 0% in 2003, 3.4% in 2004, 3.2% in 2005, 6.0% in 2006, 7.7% in 2007, and 13.0% in 2008. Twenty patients (57.1%) showed spontaneous survival, 13 (37.1%) received liver transplantation, and 5 (14.3%) died during hospitalization. The two groups of spontaneous survival (N=20) and transplant/death (N=15) showed significant differences in prothrombin time at admission and at its worst value, albumin at its worst value, and hepatic encephalopathy grade at admission and at its worst value. The MELD score was lower in the spontaneous-survival group than in the transplant/death group (27.0±7.8 vs. 37.0±7.1, mean±SD; P=0.001). However, KCH criteria did not differ significantly between the two groups. On multivariate analysis, HEP grade was the only significant predictive factor, being negatively correlated with spontaneous survival (OR=0.068, P=0.025). Conclusions: FHF due to hepatitis A has increased in recent years, and in our cohort the HEP grade was closely associated with spontaneous survival. (Korean J Hepatol 2008;14:474-482)

KeyWords: Hepatic failure, Acute; Hepatitis A; Hepatic Encephalopathy; Survival; Transplantation