Four patients with hepatitis A presenting with fulminant hepatitis and acute renal failure and who underwent Liver transplantation

doi:2009.15.3.362

Korean J Hepatol > Volume 15(3); 2009 > Article

The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2009;15(3): 362-369.
doi: https://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2009.15.3.362

Four patients with hepatitis A presenting with fulminant hepatitis and acute renal failure and who underwent Liver transplantation

Se Hoon Oh , Joon Hyoek Lee , Ji Won Hwang , Hye Young Kim , Chang Hoon Lee , Geum Youn Gwak , Moon Seok Choi , Kwang Chul Koh , Seung Woon Paik , Byung Chul Yoo

Department of Internal Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis A is generally known as a mild, self-limiting disease of the liver, but in rare instances it can progress to fulminant hepatitis, which may require liver transplantation for recovery. Such cases are known to be related to old age and underlying liver disease. We report four cases of hepatitis A in which patients presented with fulminant hepatitis and acute renal failure and underwent liver transplantation. The following common features were observed in our cases: (1) occurrence in relatively old age (≥39 years old), (2) association with acute renal failure, (3) presence of hepatomegaly, and (4) microscopic features of sub-massive hepatic necrosis. (Korean J Hepatol 2009;15:362-369)

KeyWords: Hepatitis A; Fulminant hepatitis; Acute renal failure; Liver transplantation