Analysis of Clinical Characteristic of Viral Hepatitis E in the Elderly

Objective To study the clinic features of the elderly with HEV infection. Method Patients with HEV infection were subclassified into two groups: the aged (age60 years, 60 cases) and the non-aged (age 13～51, 63 cases),which were studied retrospectively. Result Of the aged group, the percentage of acute hepatitis with jaundice,the occurrence of the fulminate hepatitis,the percentage of having other disease,mortality,course of disease, the level of bilirubin(TBIL)and complication(with infection, ascites and appearance of hepatic encephalopathy)were significantly higher than those of non-aged group. Meanwhile,with the increase in age,the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT),cholesterol (CHO), albumin (ALB) and the activity of proserpozyn (PTA) were gradually decreased.However,there was no significant difference in gender and symptoms. Conclusion With a high incidence, the aged patients has longer course of disease, severe illness and bad prognosis.